Smart Ways To Navigate Commercial Boundary Disputes

05/27/2026 09:33 AM Mark Goodman

Whether you’re in the process of acquiring a new commercial property or you’ve had a commercial space for years, there’s the possibility that you’ll find out from a surveyor or a neighbor that there is a potential issue with your property and its boundaries. Perhaps a neighbor’s fence was built on your property, or a storage shed was erected on a parcel of your neighbor’s land. When boundary issues arise, you’ll want to act quickly. In today’s blog, we explore some of the smarter ways to navigate commercial boundary disputes.

Navigating a Commercial Boundary Dispute

How to gracefully navigate a commercial boundary dispute depends on when and how the issue is discovered. For example, let’s imagine the issue is discovered after you have a pending deal in place but before closing. This is a very common time for boundary disputes to be discovered because the buyer’s team will be conducting due diligence inspections on the property, including boundary surveys. This is also an ideal time to discover a boundary issue, because you’re not yet financially liable. Your team will bring the boundary concern to the attention of the seller, and they’ll need to address it prior to closing. Either they’ll require their neighbor to settle the issue if the neighbor is liable, the seller will fix it prior to closing, or the purchase contract will be amended to account for the boundary issue.

Most deals will require the matter to be settled before closing, but it can also be written into the contract that the seller will fix the issue after closing, or they’ll knock a specific amount off the purchase price to account for the financial obligations the new owner will have to take to rectify the issue once they become owner. Boundary issues discovered during closing should never become the financial obligation of the seller.

Now, let’s say that a boundary issue is discovered once you’ve closed on the deal. Perhaps a neighbor had a survey conducted and discovered a concern, or a developer reached out saying that a structure of yours is encroaching on a parcel of land they recently acquired. What should you do in such a situation?

First, it’s wise to confirm the validity of the boundary issue. Hire a surveyor of your own to conduct a boundary survey to see if there actually is a problem with the property’s boundary. Perhaps the initial notice was unfounded or misguided, and in these situations no further action need be taken. However, if the boundary issue is confirmed, you’ll move onto your next options.

If you secured an owner’s commercial title insurance policy, you’ll want to connect with the insurance company. If the property issue predated your ownership stake, title insurance should cover any legal fees or financial obligations to address the problem.

If title insurance won’t address the issue, then the financial obligation will fall on the at-fault party. If your neighbor’s structure is encroaching on your property, they are legally responsible for fixing it, and the reverse holds true if it’s your structure that’s crossed the line onto their property.

At Commercial Partners, we pride ourselves on finding potential boundary issues before our buyers close on a property so they are never on the hook for these matters. We also offer title insurance policies that offer lifelong protection for any boundary issues that are discovered in the future (so long as they did not originate from your actions). For more information about boundary issues or commercial property acquisition in general, connect with the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.