In real estate, as in many fields, if you’re going to take someone to court, you
must do so before the statute of limitations runs out. Adding on to last week’s column,
here’s the timetable for common real estate disputes.

Physical Damage to Property Under Inverse Condemnation

     The key to this statute is “under inverse condemnation.” When property is
devalued because of government action, the owner can sue. For example, let’s say the
government rezones the property you just bought, so you can no longer build an
apartment building but only use it as a residential park. While parks are lovely, they do
not warrant the same level of financial investment as an apartment building. If the
government did not compensate you for your financial loss, you have three years to
address it. Of course, the government does have the right of eminent domain, so if
elected officials decide to build a highway through your backyard, as long as they pay
you for the value of the property, they get to do that.

Slander of Title
     Slander of title occurs when someone’s false comments make it hard (or
impossible) to sell your property at fair market value. Imagine you have neighbors who
do not want you to sell your empty lot in the neighborhood because they don’t want
anyone to build on the site. If a neighbor claimed they owned your property and told
prospective buyers it wasn’t for sale, this would be an example of slander of title. The
statute of limitations on this is three years.

Violation of CC&Rs
     Covenants, conditions and restrictions, or CC&Rs, are almost always put in place
when a subdivision is created. They cover a large range of property rights and uses,
everything from the height of your fence to whether you can park an RV in your
driveway. The statute of limitations on a CC&R violation is five years from its discovery
or from the time the violation "through reasonable diligence” should have been
discovered (not when it first occurred). This is called the discovery rule, and it applies to
several statutes of limitation.

     If someone builds a ten-foot fence in public view where fences cannot be higher
than six feet, occurrence and discovery happen at the same time. But if someone
decides to breed rare snakes behind closed doors, only to be discovered when the
snakes start escaping into the neighborhood (and there’s a CCR prohibiting snake
breeding), the statute of limitations would begin upon discovery.

Tolling
     Tolling means stopping the statute-of-limitations timer, as it were. This allows
more time for a lawsuit to be filed or resolved. This can happen when the victim is a
minor and must come of age before taking legal action, the victim was mentally
incompetent when the injury occurred, when the victim is incarcerated, etc. Sometimes
it is in both parties’ best interest to extend the time to pull a legal case together. In that
case, both parties may petition the judge to toll—preventing the statute of limitations
from running out.

     In any property dispute worth arguing over, it’s essential to involve your lawyer
who can provide information and options about how to protect your interests.
     If you have questions about property management or real estate, please contact
me at [email protected] or call (707) 462-4000. If you have an idea for a future
column, share it with me and if I use it, I’ll send you a $25 gift certificate to Schat’s
Bakery.
     Dick Selzer is a real estate broker who has been in the business for more than
50 years. The opinions expressed here are his and do not necessarily represent his
affiliated organizations.