Lateral support refers to a property owner’s right to have his or her property’s land upheld by an adjacent neighbor’s land. Therefore, a property owner cannot excavate land that might cause surface damage to a neighbor’s property, such as a landslide.
Lateral support is a law in property law that permits a landowner to have his/her structure supported by another structure. Should a landowner attempt to use their lateral support right and damages, the damaged party can initiate a strict liability tort action against the damaging party.
Lateral support is a type of real property support mechanism that strengthens a property structure to prevent the property from moving sideways. This is typically done by having a structure supported by an adjoining property or underground structure. Having a property connected to an adjoining structure reduces the possibility that a property will move sideways either through sliding or deterioration.
Property owners have the right to make reasonable changes to a structure to protect the property, therefore lateral support is a right of property owners. It is however unlawful for a property owner to make changes to another property to benefit their own structure. If they do this and it is discovered that another property was damaged to assert the lateral support right, the party making the changes will be liable.
How Lateral Support Works
One of the main ways a property improves its lateral support is by placing a retaining wall at the base of the property. The retaining wall will be constructed into the ground to strengthen the main structure. Oftentimes this is done when a property goes below ground and needs extra strength such as when a basement is well below ground level or for a parking structure that goes below ground.
If a property owner delays the construction of a lateral support and the property falls, collapses, or slides and causes damage to another property, the property owner who delayed construction of the lateral support will be held liable for damages, typically up to the full amount of damages.
Purpose of Lateral Support
A landowner has the legal right to support the integrity of their property by using adjoining properties to increase the integrity of their own property. This means one property owner can use the lateral support of a neighbor’s property to support their own. A property owner can use the lateral support of an adjoining neighbor’s property only under the following conditions:
Landowner must provide the other landowner reasonable notice of an impending excavation
Reasonable care and skill must be used when making changes to a property.
Excavation further than 9 feet below the ground requires the excavating party to hire a competent party to make the changes
