Property Disputes — Protect Your Land & Boundaries

In most cases, a licensed surveyor is the first step — they can produce a re-establishment survey that defines the legal boundary of your property based on the original deposited plan and surrounding survey marks. If the surveyor's report confirms your position, you have strong evidence for negotiation or tribunal proceedings. If the neighbour still refuses to comply, an application to the relevant state court is usually necessary. Some states also have dedicated boundary dispute provisions in their land titles legislation allowing for a more streamlined resolution process.

An easement is a right attached to one piece of land (the dominant tenement) to use another piece of land (the servient tenement) in a specified way — for example, a right of way, drainage easement, or right to use a shared driveway. Easements registered on the Torrens title run with the land and bind all future owners. To enforce an easement that is being interfered with, you can seek a court injunction and damages. To extinguish an easement, you generally need the agreement of both landowners and registration of a release, or a court order on grounds such as abandonment or obsolescence.

Adverse possession allows a person who has occupied land for a continuous statutory period, without the owner's permission, to apply for title to that land. The required period varies by state — in NSW it is 12 years, in Victoria 15 years, and in Queensland the limitation period for recovery of land is 12 years. The occupation must be open, continuous, exclusive, and inconsistent with the true owner's use of the land. Applications are made to the relevant state land titles registry. Under NSW's Torrens title reforms, adverse possession claims are significantly limited where the land is Torrens title and the true owner did not have notice.

A caveat can be removed in several ways. You can serve a lapsing notice on the caveator, who then has 21 days to commence court proceedings to sustain the caveat — if they do not act, the caveat lapses automatically. Alternatively, you can apply to the Supreme Court for an order to remove the caveat where the caveator has no caveatable interest. Finally, the caveator can withdraw the caveat voluntarily. The appropriate strategy depends on the urgency of your need to deal with the property and the strength of the caveator's claimed interest.

Yes — any co-owner can apply to the Supreme Court for an order for sale of the property under the relevant state legislation (for example, the Property (Relationships) Act or Conveyancing Act in NSW, or the Property Law Act in other states). Courts have a broad discretion to order sale, adjust the distribution of proceeds based on contributions to purchase price, mortgage repayments, and improvements, and address occupation by one co-owner. Mediation between co-owners is often attempted first, and a negotiated sale is usually faster and less costly than litigation.

Most states have specific encroachment legislation — for example, the Encroachment of Buildings Act 1922 (NSW) and the Encroachments Act 1944 (SA). Courts have power to order removal of an encroachment, award compensation to the affected landowner, or grant an easement allowing the encroachment to remain in exchange for payment. The court balances factors including the nature of the encroachment, the cost of removal, the detriment to each party, and whether the encroachment was deliberate or accidental. An innocent encroachment that would be disproportionately costly to remove is often resolved through a monetary payment rather than demolition.