Legal Definitions - contiguous

The term contiguous refers to things that are touching, next to each other, or sharing a common boundary. In a legal context, it most frequently describes parcels of land that are physically adjoining. This means they either share a common border or touch at a common corner. Importantly, land can still be considered contiguous even if a public road, river, or other right-of-way separates parts of a property under the same ownership, as long as the underlying ownership is continuous.

• Example 1: Adjacent Residential Lots

  Imagine a homeowner who owns two residential lots that are side-by-side, sharing a common property line. The homeowner decides to combine these two lots into a single, larger property for zoning purposes.

  These two lots are contiguous because they are in direct physical contact along their shared boundary. Their adjacency allows them to be treated as a unified parcel of land for legal and administrative purposes.

• Example 2: Farmland Divided by a Public Road

  Consider a farmer who owns a large tract of agricultural land. A public county road runs directly through the middle of the property, separating a field on one side from a barn and pasture on the other. Both sections of land are part of the farmer's single property deed.

  Despite the road physically dividing the land, these two sections are still considered contiguous in a legal sense. This is because they are under common ownership, and the road merely provides an easement for public access, not a break in the underlying continuity of the farmer's property.

• Example 3: Office Suites in a Commercial Building

  A growing business leases two adjacent office suites on the same floor of a commercial building. The suites share a common interior wall, and the business plans to remove part of that wall to create a larger, unified workspace.

  These office suites are contiguous because they are immediately next to each other and share a physical boundary. Their contiguous nature makes it practical and legally straightforward to combine them into a single functional space.