Definition of "Adjoining"

Gena Taylor real estate agent

Written by

Gena Taylorelite badge icon

Coldwell Banker FI Grey & Son Residential Inc.

Regarding the definition of the term adjoining, we see a term used most often to describe a particular position that objects, items, or properties have regarding each other. In the case of the term adjoining, that position is one of direct contact, attached, or contiguous. Strictly regarding the ordinary meaning of the word, adjoining describes closer proximity than adjacent as it requires a “joining” of objects, items, or properties. 

Adjoining in real estate

The term adjoining is also important in real estate lingo as it describes two buildings with a connecting boundary, a wall that they both share, a fence that connects the properties, and such. The term, however, is often used together with adjacent accompanied by a wide variety of environmental planning instruments as well as in development control plans. Something important to note is that when used together, they possibly refer to different concepts that determine the proximity of properties, buildings, and lots.

The term real estate adjoining can be used to describe abutting properties or adjoining properties as, in both instances, the two properties do not have any land or structure in between them. These properties can share a wall of the house, a fence in the backyard, or a line of trees that limits one property from the other. In any other way, the two properties are joined at one point or one line with nothing else separating them. Examples would be duplexes and townhouses. The concept is debated when issues of cadastral mapping come into question for buyers that are interested in lots that are devoid of any structures in order to have exact measurements of where one lot ends and the other begins.


Adjoining owners are the legal owners of adjoining properties that share a common structure at their border. Other terms that can be used instead of adjoining in real estate are abutting, neighboring, connected, or attached. Adjacent is close but not quite as directly connected as adjoining is and should not be used as a synonym.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Architectural style featuring a long low roof line with a continuous row of windows and a plain exterior. It is very open design with long horizontal lines rather than having small secluded ...

Real annual return on a real estate investment. It equates the initial investment with the present value of future net cash inflows from the investment. The IRR can be determined by using a ...

Relating to trees or shrubs normally found in temperate climates. Deciduous trees shed their leaves in the fall. Deciduous woods such as pine, oak, Maple, redwood, and spruce are widely ...

Founded in 1857 and located in Washington, DC, with over 54,000 members, throughout the United States, the AIA has 301 local groups in all 50 states. ...

If “image is everything”, then home staging is the most important and effective process in a real estate sale. But what is home staging? Well, when real estate agents are ...

Generic name given for any association of property owners sharing an interest in commonly owned property. Community associations may be developed in condominium, cooperative, or housing ...

First right of a party, usually a creditor, to hold, keep possession of, or control the property of another to pay a debt, duty, or obligation. ...

In taxation losses that can offset ordinary income. Assume john owns and operates an apartment house. Minor tenant damage to the property is used to offset rental income. ...

Uncertainties associated with real property including lack of insurance coverage in the event of fire or injury, high crime area, and environmental problems. This risk may be reduced ...

Popular Real Estate Questions