Posted by Garrett Sutton on March 29, 2006 at 13:10:39:
As a general rule, if the driveway has been used for 15 years you may have obtained an easement to use the neighbor’s property. That said, I would consider contacting a local attorney to review the situation, especially if the new owners are going to start building. Good luck, Garrett
Driveway use - Posted by xuandzung tran
Posted by xuandzung tran on March 29, 2006 at 09:58:35:
We bought a second house in Tehachapi, California in 2004. The house has a driveway that has been used since 1978 at the borber of the property. The former owners put low stone walls and landscaping at the two sides of the driveway more than 15 years ago. We assumed that the driveway was entirely inside the property. However, the neighbor lot was sold recently and the new owner had it survey. We found out that part of the driveway (triangular shape 5 ft by 5 ft by 10 ft) and some of the trees are on the neighbor’s property. Questions:
1 - Are we allowed to use the driveway as is? If the new neighbor insists on the other part of the driveway, we will have a hard time to drive in and to back out the property.
2 - If we have to re-do the driveway (it will cost a lot of money), are we allowed to get the wall and the trees out?
3 - What should we do now before the neighbor builds his/her new house and destroy the driveway?
Thank you,
Xuan Tran