A Long Island house on a canal or bay usually owns land only to the mean high water line. The land under the water, and often the strip the dock crosses, belongs to New York State or, in several towns, to the town or its trustees under a colonial patent. The bulkhead and dock are therefore partly structures on someone else’s land, and each needs its own permits. A title search covers record ownership of the upland. It does not confirm that the dock was permitted or that the bulkhead sits on the owner’s side of the line.
This guide covers Nassau and Suffolk counties. Ownership of bay bottoms differs town by town, and permit rules differ by agency, so both are named where it matters.
Who owns the bay bottom and the shoreline
New York State. The Office of General Services (OGS) holds title to the beds of many waters “in trust for the people of the State of New York.” For tidal waters, OGS says the boundary between state and private land is generally the “mean high water mark,” measured at “the last known natural location, prior to the placement of any fill” (OGS, lands underwater). OGS keeps no list of state-owned waterbodies because ownership is often mixed, and asks owners to contact it about a specific location.
Towns and town trustees. Many Long Island towns received bay bottoms, beaches and creeks under 17th-century royal patents, and those grants survived independence. The town or its trustees then own the underwater land in place of the State, holding it in trust for the public.
| Town | Holder of bottomlands | Source cited |
|---|---|---|
| Southampton | Town Trustees | 1686 Dongan Patent |
| East Hampton | Town Trustees | 1686 Dongan Patent |
| Brookhaven | Trustees or Town | Town Code |
| Huntington | Town | Colonial patent |
| Oyster Bay | Town (Oyster Bay) | Andros Patent |
Sources: Southampton, Strough (Sup Ct, Suffolk County 2016); East Hampton, Trustee Resolution 2023-36 (bottomlands owned “in fee title,” including Georgica Pond and Three Mile Harbor) and the Dongan Patent text; Brookhaven, Town Code; Huntington, Attorney General informal opinion 2005-11; Oyster Bay, Murphy v Town of Oyster Bay, 171 AD3d 1079 (2d Dept 2019).
Patent ownership has limits. In Murphy, the Town owns “the underwater land beneath Oyster Bay” but the State owns the bottom north of a line from Rocky Point to Whitewood Point. Ownership of the Peconic Bays is contested: Southold case law treats them as state waters, while Southampton asserts patent rights there (Farrell Fritz, May 2026). For any other town, the patent and the waterbody have to be checked individually.
Who owns the bottom decides whose consent a dock needs as owner, separate from any regulatory permit.
High water line boundaries and why waterfront descriptions move
Many waterfront deeds run “along the high water line” of a bay or creek rather than to a fixed point. That boundary moves with the water. Under the common law rules applied in New York (summary, Long Island Land Use and Zoning):
- Accretion, the gradual build-up of sand or silt, adds land to the waterfront owner.
- Erosion, gradual loss, takes land away.
- Avulsion, a sudden change such as a storm breach, does not shift ownership.
A survey shows the high water line only as of its date, so two surveys years apart can show different acreage with no conveyance in between. In West Hampton Dunes, the Southampton Trustees claimed beach built up after the 1992 and 1993 storms as avulsion on their bay bottom, while owners said it was accretion to their lots. In 2010 the Appellate Division let the case proceed for about 30 parcels, holding that an earlier single-parcel ruling did not decide the issue (Strough v Inc. Vil. of W. Hampton Dunes, 78 AD3d 1037 (2d Dept 2010)). In 2018 it sent the owners’ limitations, laches and adverse possession defenses to trial, again without deciding who owns the land (167 AD3d 800 (2d Dept 2018)).
Filled land behind bulkheads. Many Nassau and Suffolk canal lots were created by dredging and filling. Because OGS measures the state boundary at the natural high water line before fill, land filled seaward of that line may still belong to the State, or to the town where it owns the bottom, unless a grant conveyed it. OGS offers a grant application to clear title to previously filled underwater land; under Public Lands Law § 75(7)(a) grants go only to the owner of the adjacent upland. Whether a grant exists is a record question; where the original shoreline was is a survey question.
Riparian rights: access, not ownership
Owning land on the water carries riparian (or, on bays and the ocean, littoral) rights. The Court of Appeals described them in a Long Island case: “Riparian owners generally are entitled to access to water for navigation, fishing and other such uses,” including “the right to make this access a practical reality by building a pier, or ‘wharfing out.’” Those rights are “qualified by other rights in the owner” of the bottom, and neither side may act in a way “unreasonably intrusive upon the other’s rights” (Town of Oyster Bay v Commander Oil Corp., 96 NY2d 566 (2001)).
A riparian right is a right to reach the water and build reasonable access, subject to permits. It is not title to the bottom or a right to any particular dock. Disputes between neighbors over where one owner’s waterfront ends turn on riparian lines; OGS handles complaints under Navigation Law § 32 about interference with “free and direct access to navigable waters,” and 9 NYCRR Part 274 sets survey principles for fixing those lines (OGS).
Permits for bulkheads and docks
A bulkhead or dock on Long Island can fall under up to five layers of approval. Each is separate, and holding one does not satisfy another.
| Authority | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NYS DEC | Tidal wetlands, adjacent area | 6 NYCRR Part 661 |
| NYS DEC or town | Coastal erosion hazard area | ECL Art. 34 |
| US Army Corps | Work in navigable waters | 33 USC 403 |
| OGS | Use of state underwater land | PBL § 75(7) |
| Town, trustees, village | Local wetlands, docks, owner consent | Town or village code |
DEC tidal wetlands. Part 661 regulates tidal wetlands and an “adjacent area” reaching up to 300 feet landward (150 feet in New York City), stopping sooner at the 10-foot elevation contour or at a qualifying existing structure such as a road or a bulkhead at least 100 feet long (6 NYCRR 661.4). Under the use table in 661.5, “ordinary maintenance and repair (not involving expansion or substantial restoration, reconstruction or modification)” needs no permit, but “in-kind and in-place replacement of existing functional bulkheads,” new bulkheads and new docks all require one. For Nassau and Suffolk, DEC’s General Permit GP-1-22-001 covers removing and replacing “functional, lawfully existing” bulkheads, with limits on seaward extension and height, and no work may start until DEC signs the project authorization. A failed or never-permitted bulkhead does not fit that description. A 2026 DEC notice for a 64-foot bulkhead replacement on Randall Canal in Freeport lists tidal wetlands, excavation and fill in navigable waters, and Clean Water Act section 401 certification (DEC notice).
Coastal erosion hazard areas. DEC maps cover “the entire coastline of Long Island.” Within a mapped area, any action that “materially alters the condition of land” needs a coastal erosion permit, issued by the municipality where it has a DEC-certified program and by DEC elsewhere (DEC).
Army Corps. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 U.S.C. § 403) requires Corps authorization for structures in navigable waters. Smaller projects often proceed under nationwide permits such as NWP 3 (maintenance) and NWP 13 (bank stabilization). DEC’s December 2025 water quality certification for the reissued nationwide permits excludes “construction of new bulkheads or vertical walls” from its blanket approval (DEC letter).
OGS. On state-owned bottom, a dock needs “a lease, easement, permit, or other interest” from OGS (PBL § 75(7)(b)). OGS exempts non-commercial structures under 4,000 square feet that hold five or fewer 30-foot boats and meet its other limits (OGS thresholds).
Towns, trustees and villages. Where the town owns the bottom, it acts as owner as well as regulator. Brookhaven’s code states that “no person shall construct or repair a dock located on Town of Brookhaven parkland or land underwater” without a permit (Brookhaven). East Hampton’s Trustees require annual dock agreements charged at $1.00 per square foot, minimum $150, and review unpermitted docks case by case (Resolution 2023-36). In Southold, the Board of Trustees regulates docks and bulkheads in wetlands and within 100 feet of them (Town Code ch. 275). A village inside a town can regulate dock construction, and has exclusive control of anchoring and mooring within 1,500 feet of its shoreline, but in the Attorney General’s view that does not displace the town’s rights as owner of the bottom (AG opinion 2005-11). On April 16, 2026, the Southampton Town Board adopted Local Law No. 11 of 2026 to prohibit construction of private docks along its Peconic Bay shoreline, including Great and Little Peconic Bays; waterfront owners dispute the town’s authority (Farrell Fritz, May 2026; 27east).
How the title report and survey treat the waterfront
The policy insures the upland. The 2021 ALTA Owner’s Policy, used in New York since October 1, 2024, defines the insured “Land” as the land in Schedule A and states that it does not include “any right, title, interest, estate, or easement in any abutting street, road, avenue, alley, lane, right-of-way, body of water, or waterway” (TIRSA Rate Manual, ALTA Owner’s Policy 2021, Condition 1). Title to the bay bottom and riparian rights are outside the insured estate unless a policy expressly insures them.
Waterfront title work costs more. Section 2(G) of the TIRSA manual allows extra charges for examinations involving “land under water,” among other complications.
Schedule B exceptions. The TIRSA manual prescribes no standard riparian exception. Waterfront reports often add specific exceptions, for example for rights of the State or town in land below the high water line, for riparian rights of others, or for any portion of the premises that is filled land, worded by the company and the underwriter for the parcel.
The survey reading. Without a survey, the general exception for “any state of facts an accurate survey would show” stays in the policy, and a bulkhead or dock over a line falls within it (survey exception guide). With a survey, the reading lists what it shows, such as a dock beyond the high water line, a bulkhead off the record line or a neighbor’s float crossing the side line extended, and each becomes a specific exception that the buyer’s attorney reviews with the rest of the report (title search and title report).
Unpermitted or encroaching docks and bulkheads
A missing dock permit is not a lien and does not appear in a lien search. It is a regulatory and possessory problem that passes with the property. Where the town owns the bottom, an unpermitted dock sits on town land: East Hampton gives owners six months after notice to apply to legalize one, may deny the application, and treats future unpermitted expansions with “heightened scrutiny.” Its dock agreements require the holder to give the Trustees written notice of an intent to sell, with the transferees’ names, and failure “may result in forfeiture of the right to maintain this Annual Dock Agreement.”
DEC permits can move to a new owner, but not automatically. DEC’s transfer policy requires the seller’s consent and asks for the transfer application at least 30 days before the change in ownership; tidal wetlands permits are listed as transferable (DEC Permit Transfers policy DEP 01-1). Expired permits cannot be transferred.
A dock or bulkhead encroaching onto a neighbor’s waterfront is a survey matter. It shows up in the survey reading, not the record search.
Bulkhead condition and seller disclosure
Bulkhead condition is a property-condition issue, not a title defect. Since March 20, 2024, sellers of one- to four-family homes must deliver the Property Condition Disclosure Statement; the $500 credit option is gone (NYSBA). The form in Real Property Law § 462 has no bulkhead or dock question. The questions that touch waterfront are designated wetland (Q18), others’ rights to use the property (Q4), claims to own part of it (Q5), features shared with neighbors (Q7), and the flood questions covered in flood zones and flood insurance on Long Island. Anything beyond the form, such as the bulkhead’s age or condition, comes from inspection, engineering reports and the contract.
Records that answer the waterfront questions
| Question | Where it is answered |
|---|---|
| Who owns the bottom? | OGS; town trustees or patent |
| Was land filled? Any grant? | OGS grant records; title search |
| Where is the high water line? | Current survey |
| Is the bulkhead permitted? | DEC permit; town records |
| Is the dock permitted? | DEC, Corps, OGS, town, village |
| Coastal erosion area? | DECinfo Locator map |
| Transfer of permits? | DEC transfer; trustee agreement |
Deeds are recorded with the county clerk (Nassau and Suffolk county clerk land records); survey-related endorsements are in title insurance endorsements.
Official sources
- NYS OGS, lands underwater: mean high water boundary, filled land, riparian complaints
- NYS OGS, water structures thresholds
- Public Lands Law § 75
- 6 NYCRR 661.4 and 661.5: tidal wetlands
- NYS DEC, GP-1-22-001 bulkhead removal and replacement
- NYS DEC, coastal erosion management permits
- NYS DEC, nationwide permit water quality certification, Dec. 18, 2025
- NYS DEC, Permit Transfers policy DEP 01-1
- 33 U.S.C. § 403: Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10
- Real Property Law § 462: Property Condition Disclosure Statement
- TIRSA Rate Manual, 7th Revision: Section 2(G); ALTA Owner’s Policy 2021, Condition 1
- Brookhaven Town Code, moorings and docks; Southold Town Code ch. 275; East Hampton Trustees Resolution 2023-36
- NYS Attorney General informal opinion 2005-11
- Town of Oyster Bay v Commander Oil Corp., 96 NY2d 566 (2001); Murphy v Town of Oyster Bay, 171 AD3d 1079 (2d Dept 2019); Strough v Inc. Vil. of W. Hampton Dunes, 78 AD3d 1037 (2d Dept 2010) and 167 AD3d 800 (2d Dept 2018)