1. Waterfront property ownership in Florida involves unique real property considerations.
2. Riparian rights include the rights to access, boating, bathing, fishing, and unobstructed water views.
3. The United States initially held the lands under navigable waters for the benefit of the people after acquiring Florida from Spain in the early 1800s.
4. The State of Florida holds title to the beds of navigable waters and the space between high and low water marks for the benefit of its citizens.
5. The state legislature has control over sovereign trust lands and can sell portions of submerged sovereign lands to private owners as long as public and private rights are not impaired. – Submerged sovereign lands are held by the state in trust for the public.
– The “shore” is the space between the high and low water lines, and is defined in state statutes as the land bordering sovereign waters from the mean high water line seaward.
– Tideland is land covered and uncovered daily by water affected by the ordinary ebb and flow of normal tides.
– The state may transfer submerged sovereignty land to private land owners, forfeiting its jurisdiction over the land.
– Natural changes to the earth’s surface can affect private shoreline property rights, leading to disputes between private land owners and the state over ownership of newly created land.
– Riparian rights include the right to an increase of land area by accretion and reliction, where the added land belongs to the riparian owner and not the state. 1. The construction of a dock does not give the waterfront property owner title to the submerged lands underneath the dock.
2. Docking rights are limited by the line of deep water, which is the location where the water is deep enough for navigation.
3. The apportionment of riparian rights is determined by drawing dividing lines perpendicular to the line of deep water or nearest limit of a marked navigation channel.
4. Along an irregular shoreline, riparian rights are typically aimed at dividing dock rights equally.
5. Riparian rights in Florida law aim to fairly and equitably weigh the rights of waterfront property owners in disputes over shoreline and waterway use.
https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2012/12/riparian-rights-in-florida/
Leave a Reply