Lateral support

Definition

A landowner's right to have its ground held up by the land beside it.

Why It Matters

An excavation that undermines the lot next door is a claim against whoever dug it, so this is the risk an excavation book carries beside every occupied building. California writes the rule down. The owner digging gives the neighbor reasonable notice of the depth and the start date, and uses ordinary care to hold up the adjoining land. A neighbor whose foundations sit above a deeper cut must be allowed at least thirty days to protect them. Below nine feet under the curb, and only where the neighbor's own wall or foundation goes that deep, the digging side protects the adjoining land and building at its own cost if given license to enter, minor settlement cracks excepted. Ask a seller which jobs went deep beside buildings, who sent the notices, and whether a neighbor ever claimed.

In numbers: A California cut twelve feet below the curb beside a house on shallow footings leaves its protection to the owner under the statute, with at least thirty days to do it, so $60,000 of underpinning is the neighbor's cost. Beside a building whose foundation reaches nine feet, the same $60,000 is the job's.