Civil Trespassing: Did You Know Water Can Trespass on Your Property?

Most of us know the general definition of trespassing. No Trespassing signs or teenagers exploring an abandoned private property probably come to mind. In that case, though, you’re thinking of criminal trespass. There’s another type of trespassing you may not have thought of: civil trespass. And water can actually be a culprit of civil trespass.

Robinson & Henry real estate attorneys explain the different types of trespass in the article.

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Our real estate and litigation attorneys are knowledgeable about an area of the law most people think they know about but may not actually be as familiar with it as they thought. That area of the law is trespass. More specifically, civil trespass.

What is Trespassing?

Most people think of trespass as kids using your yard as a shortcut to meet up with their friends after school. But it’s a lot more than that. Here in Colorado, there are two types of trespass: civil and criminal trespass.

What’s The Difference

Criminal Trespass

Most of us feel we know about criminal trespass. In the case of criminal trespass, an unwanted person comes onto your property and may commit a crime. Short of a crime, it could be some other unwanted activity that can be prosecuted.

Civil Trespass

Civil trespass can be completely different, but it can be the same as criminal. Here’s a similar situation: someone comes onto your property without proper permission. That person then performs some unwanted act on your property. But, and this is an important but: civil trespass can also refer to an element coming onto your property, as opposed to a person coming onto it.

Examples of Trespass

Any type of physical invasion on your property that can interfere with the use of your property can be considered a trespass. That means you can seek a recompense for the party responsible for that physical intrusion.

Element trespassing examples: 

Let’s say your neighbor alters their land in such a way that rainwater now comes on your property where it didn’t before. That could be a potential trespass action. Other potential trespass sources could be smoke, smell, or vibrations.

Any type of physical invasion that comes onto your property could be considered either trespass or a nuisance. You can seek recompense from the other person causing the problem.

Have a Civil Trespass Problem? 

Call 303-688-0944 to begin your case assessment.