How to Sell a House With an Encroachment in Florida

An encroachment occurs when a structure — a fence, shed, patio addition, driveway extension, or even a portion of a home itself — physically extends across a property line onto an adjacent parcel. Unlike a legal easement, which grants a documented right to use another party's land, an encroachment is an unauthorized crossing that creates title defects and legal complications.

In Florida, encroachments are most commonly discovered through surveys — specifically the boundary survey ordered as part of a home sale. Many homeowners don't know an encroachment exists until they try to sell. Others have lived with a long-standing encroachment for decades, assuming an informal agreement with a neighbor carries legal weight. It generally does not.

How Do You Find Out You Have an Encroachment?

Most Florida home sales trigger a title search, and buyers using financing are typically required to provide a current survey. The survey maps the exact legal boundaries of the parcel based on recorded deeds and plats. If a structure on either your property or your neighbor's crosses those mapped boundaries, the surveyor will flag it in the survey notes.

Common examples in Florida include:

• Fences: A fence installed by a prior owner that sits one to four feet inside a neighbor's actual property line is among the most frequently flagged encroachments in Florida residential surveys.
• Sheds and outbuildings: A detached garage or storage shed built near a side setback sometimes crosses the legal boundary.
• Pool decks and screen enclosures: Additions made during renovations — sometimes without a current survey — can extend onto the neighboring property.
• Driveways: Concrete or paver driveways widened over time sometimes cross the property line by a few inches to a few feet.

How Does an Encroachment Affect a Traditional Home Sale?

Once an encroachment appears on a survey, it affects the sale in several ways. Title companies will note the encroachment as an exception in the title commitment — meaning they will not insure against losses arising from the encroachment. Most conventional mortgage lenders will require the encroachment to be resolved before they will fund a loan.

A buyer's lender may require one of the following before proceeding to closing: removal of the encroaching structure, a recorded legal easement from the neighboring property owner granting formal permission for the encroachment, or a recorded boundary line agreement between the two property owners. Each option requires the cooperation of your neighbor — cooperation that is not always forthcoming, particularly if the relationship has been strained. For a broader look at title complications in Florida home sales, our guide on selling a house with title problems covers similar obstacles.

What Are Your Options for Resolving an Encroachment?

If you want to pursue a traditional listing, you have several paths forward:

Remove the encroaching structure. If the encroachment belongs to you — your fence, shed, or addition is on the neighbor's land — removing it and restoring the property boundary may be the fastest resolution. This works when the structure is not load-bearing and can be relocated without major expense. If the encroaching structure belongs to your neighbor, you cannot remove it without their consent, and compelling removal typically requires legal action.

Obtain a boundary line agreement or easement. Both property owners can enter a recorded agreement that acknowledges the encroachment and grants permission for the structure to remain. This doesn't transfer ownership of the land, but it clears the title defect and gives future buyers something enforceable to rely on. An attorney familiar with Florida property law should draft this document. The challenge: it requires your neighbor's full cooperation and often their own attorney fees.

Adverse possession. If a structure has been in place for seven years or more and the owner has been paying taxes on the encroached land, Florida's adverse possession statutes may provide a path to claiming ownership of the encroached portion. However, adverse possession claims require strict legal criteria to be met and take months to years to complete — not a viable option for a pending sale.

Can You Sell a House With an Unresolved Encroachment As-Is?

Yes — but primarily to a cash buyer. Most conventional, FHA, and VA lenders will require the encroachment to be resolved before funding a mortgage. Without lender financing available, the buyer pool for a home with an unresolved encroachment is limited to cash buyers and real estate investors.

A cash buyer evaluates the property's value holistically, accounting for the encroachment but not requiring the title to be cleared before closing. FastSellEasy regularly purchases homes with unresolved title complications — encroachments, boundary disputes, easement conflicts — and handles resolution matters after closing. Our guide on selling a home with an easement provides similar context for overlapping property rights situations.

What Does Florida Law Require You to Disclose?

Florida law requires sellers to disclose known material defects that affect the value or desirability of the property and that would not be readily apparent to a buyer through a reasonable inspection. An encroachment that has been identified in a prior survey, or that the seller is otherwise aware of, generally meets that standard.

The safest approach is to disclose what you know, provide any existing survey documentation, and let buyers make an informed decision. Attempting to conceal a known encroachment creates significant legal exposure after closing, including potential fraud and misrepresentation claims. Disclosure doesn't end the sale — it ensures that whoever buys the property does so with full knowledge of the situation. See our guide on selling a house as-is for how this type of disclosure is typically handled in cash transactions.

How to Get a Cash Offer on a Property With an Encroachment

Call (888) 913-9906 or visit our homes page to request a no-obligation cash offer. Share the property address and any details you have about the encroachment — a prior survey if you have it, what the encroaching structure is, and whether any prior discussions with the neighbor have taken place. FastSellEasy will factor the encroachment into the evaluation and provide a written offer within 24 to 48 hours.

If you're considering whether a traditional listing might work if the encroachment is resolved first, NowTB.com provides current Tampa Bay market data and comparable sales that can help you understand what comparable properties in your neighborhood are achieving — useful context before deciding which path makes the most financial sense.

See why sellers choose FastSellEasy when title complications make a traditional listing impractical.