The present invention resolves IP address conflicts in a network with DHCP or other address assignment protocol when some host on the network uses a conflicting static IP address to an IP address assigned to another host. The preferred method involves offering a given IP address to a host/node through the address assignment protocol while also detecting any other host/node using the offered IP address on a given VLAN using address resolution protocol. If another host/node is using the IP address, the offending host/node may be blocked on that VLAN for a set amount of time.