How to Resolve Property Line Disputes in Maryland
- September 23, 2025
- Real Estate
Property line maps show clearly where one property ends and another one begins. Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t come with easily identified lines. Unless your property ends at a natural boundary like a river or a cliff face, it can be hard to know what belongs to you and what belongs to someone else. Naturally, this creates disputes between neighbors about where property lines lie. Want to know how to resolve property line disputes in Maryland in a way that is likely to get the results you seek? Lusk Law, LLC has answers to your questions.
Document the Problem
Before you contact a real estate lawyer, start documenting the dispute. Gather any evidence that is freely available, like pictures of the property or any free public records that you can find. If the dispute involves alleged trespassing, keep records of when the trespassing incidents occurred and any police responses, if applicable.
Contact an Experienced Attorney at Lusk Law, LLC
Once you have documented the problem, contact our legal team to take the next steps. We will help you determine your rights and options for moving forward.
We are well-informed on all applicable Maryland laws and have experience resolving disputed property claims cleanly. Every situation is different, but we might take some or all of the following steps to resolve property line disputes in Maryland.
Obtain a Property Survey
If you haven’t had a property survey in several years — or maybe even decades — now is the time to get one done. Even natural boundaries can shift over time. The only way to be certain where your property ends and the next one begins is by hiring a high-quality surveyor. Our law firm knows the most accurate surveyors in the area and will help you get a survey quickly and at a fair price.
In some cases, a property survey will resolve the dispute. This is because many disputes occur in good faith; one party thinks they have rights to a portion of the property that they actually don’t. An accurate survey may resolve that confusion and allow you to end a dispute with minimal hard feelings.
Offer the Other Party an Easement
If the dispute is over a portion of your property that you don’t use, you may be able to negotiate an easement with your neighbor. This doesn’t mean you are giving away your property. Instead, an easement is an offer to let them use it for specific purposes, often at a cost.
By agreeing to an easement, you get something for a section of your land you weren’t using, and your neighbor is allowed to continue to use the land for specific purposes. An easement also prevents your neighbor from trying to take the land through adverse possession.
Note, however, that the law might require you to offer an easement at no cost in some circumstances. For example, an owner of a property that doesn’t reach the road has the right to access the road, even if that access goes through another property.
Are you involved in a property dispute with a neighbor? Contact Lusk Law, LLC at (443) 535-9715 today to discuss your legal options.
Sell Off a Portion of Your Property
If you choose to sell instead of offering an easement, you will permanently transfer the property to the other owner. Local zoning laws may make this harder by limiting your ability to cut off a piece of your property. However, you might be able to get a variance by showing that it will help resolve a dispute between neighbors. Our experienced real estate lawyers will work with you to determine the value of that piece of your property and seek fair value for it in a sale.
If you don’t need that portion of your property, consider selling it to resolve the problem permanently.
Fight the Encroachment in Court
If all else fails, you may need to fight the encroachment in court. Maryland property laws assert your right to use your property within the physical boundaries laid out by your deed. Similarly, you have the right to refuse the use of your property by others, even if you aren’t currently using it.
Going to court is typically a worst-case scenario. A court battle with a neighbor can end in a lifetime of bad feelings and harassment. If they lose, the neighbor might try everything they can to irritate you without violating the law.
What Not to Do to Resolve a Property Line Dispute in Maryland
When figuring out how to resolve property line disputes in Maryland, the following are things you should avoid at all costs.
Never Try to Resolve the Problem Without a Lawyer
It’s common for people to want to avoid making waves among their neighbors. To that end, you might try to approach your neighbor informally to resolve a property line dispute. Unfortunately, this can create more problems than it solves. Even if the mistake was made in good faith, this gives your neighbor a heads-up that they are violating the law. They might contact a lawyer, which will give them a legal advantage.
If the action was intentional, approaching them informally will alert your neighbor that they need to move more aggressively than they already were.
Never Use Violence
When someone is trespassing on your property, you might consider resorting to violence to get them to leave. Even if you are in the right in the property dispute, drawing a gun or similar actions could put you in the wrong. Don’t threaten any type of physical violence, and don’t destroy any structures until our legal team or a court tells you that you can.
Contact Lusk Law, LLC Today
Advocates for Life’s Obstacles and Opportunities
Property line disputes can be extremely frustrating if approached in the wrong way. Protect your rights when you are in a dispute by contacting our experienced Maryland legal team.
Want to know more? Contact Lusk Law, LLC at (443) 535-9715 today to talk to our attorneys.