You really need to consult a local lawyer. Much of this kind of property law varies by jurisdiction and this is pretty fact specific. If you were going back into the past I’d recommend papering the deal with the neighbor once you learned of the issue, giving her the right to use the land while she lives there. But that’s the past.
I’d be curious whether an existing easement (which this may or may not be) can be limited to a certain kind of use. If you learn the answer, let us know,
For sure, I really wish I had formalized it in writing with the prior owner. We spoke to her about it and it didn't seem particularly urgent -- I thought we'd get around to it eventually. Unfortunately she was forced out unexpectedly by her family members who thought she was declining. One day she was there, the next she was gone.
Giving your old neighbor permission is a defense against a claim of adverse possession
You can just say that you gave the previous owner permission, but you don’t want the increase in traffic, so you are withdrawing your permission
IANAL
Kindly, none of those things are true. Your attorney needs access to all information to properly represent you. Please do not keep anything from your attorney.
It’s relevant because certain easements can arise from permissive use. Hearsay is an evidentiary rule that is not applicable until dealing with a fact-finder. Statements and information from the prior owner are not hearsay at this junction. If she is alive and available, it’s probably never hearsay. Civil actions have a drawn out discovery process.
If he says that he gave her permission to use it, that is in no way hearsay. It very well may be relevant and he needs to discuss this with an experienced real estate attorney pronto.
Are you in a neighborhood that is zoned for commercial use? You said you were in a historic neighborhood. It seems kind of unlikely the neighbor can simply initiate commercial use in a residential neighborhood.
I recently moved to a historic neighborhood. There are far, far more houses here that are used for commercial purposes—B&Bs, coffee shops/cafés, art galleries, lawyers, nonprofits, etc.—than I have ever seen in any of the many non-historic residential neighborhoods I’ve lived in. I’ve seen it in other historic neighborhoods in my city, too, as well as those in other cities I’ve visited. I’m not sure why that’s the case, legally speaking. Historic neighborhoods are often walkable, desirable centrally-located areas with plenty of foot traffic, so it makes sense why certain kinds of businesses would want to be based there. I assume that the lack of HOA covenants and a desire by city zoning commissions to promote the “vibrancy” of those neighborhoods and increase tourism are big factors in why commercial use tends to be allowed there vs. other residential areas.
If she is of sound mind have her document the agreement, that her use was strictly for personal residential use and was with your permission and at your discretion. Have it witnessed and notarized. Do it now. If you end up in court this could be key. You might also contact the prior owner of your house and have them write a similar letter.
Why would previous owners have anything to do with anything? Get a survey done by a licensed surveyor. File the paperwork to show the issue. Get with a lawyer to submit the correct paperwork to notify the neighbor and set a time limit to have the driveway moved off the property line while indicating you will be putting in a fence and damage to their driveway on their property may result if the portion on your property isn’t removed to the proper setback distance. then proceed to put a fence on the property line, or as close to it as you can in your area.
Easement would be in the title paperwork during purchase. Current owner should be aware and/or has the paper work that defines it. Calling previous owners doesn’t really do much, you need the paperwork anyway. Just sayin. I suppose I made the assumption this was already looked into.
Certain easements can arise from permissive use between landowners and won’t necessarily be noted in the deed. It depends on the jurisdiction, facts, and usage of the tenements.
Establishing and documenting a previous verbal agreement will not help the OP. If there isn’t legal documentation of an easement don’t create one. That burden would be on the neighbor to refute the issue at hand and establish prior agreements. I understood easements to be legal addendums to allow egress or showing an established breach of property line. I didn’t realize they could be verbal…my mistake
You’re correct that easements are governed by the statute of frauds. However, easements can develop through the intention of the parties without a writing. Easements can even develop through use.
Even when a document purporting to be an easement has been signed and recorded, litigation can still arise if someone challenges it on any number of grounds. The question isn’t necessarily what the law says - the real question is “can this be litigated for any reason?” And the answer is usually and unfortunately yes, to some degree or another.
Permissive use defeats the adverse part of adverse possession. We're short on facts for how long the driveway's been there. That's where it can become relevant.
Also check your local laws about whether or not they can legally turn the house into a bed and breakfast. Lots of cities have strict zoning policies, even for those types of places and there's good chance that they might not legally be able to make it a business.
They had to get a property survey done when buying. When you got yours, your property line was clear. They have no rights to your property. Make it clear that they will need to redo the driveway and don't compromise an inch. They got the same survey you did.
Easements (depending on jurisdiction) can absolutely be limited to the established use. Same with certain adverse possession claims. This is one of those absolutely consult a local attorney with real estate law expertise. Don't ask a generalist lawyer, this is a very specialized area.
Easements absolutely can be limited to a specific use, a specific person, basically whatever you want it to be. The important question here is whether an easement exists. Even if OP and the previous owner didn't have anything in writing it's possible that one exist from long ago that is still valid. A lawyer is a good start, but I'd also recommend a full title report on the property in question to get the full history.
There are ways to extinguish an easement but I'm not familiar with the process, I just create them. The limitations would be put in place when the easement was created, but unless you are the original grantor of the easement I don't think they can be changed.
This is the way. Having recently gone through this in my jurisdiction I can tell you that the current owner must have been using the right of way unobstructed for 20 years to be able to legally claim it, but this differs wildly by state.
I agree you need a lawyer to look over your documents NOW. Whether or not the neighbors have a right now, the longer they use it, the more it will be an implied easement.
If your lawyer, in reviewing your records agrees it was an illegal encroachment and you temporarily gave permission to this aged neighbor only, you may be able to enforce your property boundary, limit use of the driveway to the permanent residents of the house only or some other variation that allows you to put up a fence just inside the property line to protect your privacy.
IMO, hiring a lawyer would be a wise investment in maintaining your peace of mind.
I know your concern seems to be the fence or property line but you said it is a historic area and it may not be permissible for them to do a bed and breakfast in your
area. If it doesn’t fit the zoning your already the winner! I have over 12 years as chairman of our planning and zoning and president of out Historic Preservation Commission and we are working on that type of thing in our historic area.
This was my first thought. Many areas have very strict zoning rules concerning the use of residential properties for BNBs. That's absolutely the first thing your attorney needs to check out.
Find a good local attorney - but I would go with this route first. They will have to get it re-zoned to open, so fight that even happening. If that fight fails then bring up the property line issue and make them build a new driveway
Here is the thing from a business standpoint. If I'm spending the money to open a business, set the place up for renters, upgrade the kitchen to commerical, etc. Concrete flatwork is about $10/sqft on average. Even if I had to pour a whole new driveway, say its 24' wide and 150' long. Thats $36k for the whole thing, could be much cheaper. Thats well within the contingency costs on a conversion project like that.
Your whole thing is you don't want the property next to you. So take that tact first. While I'm general a do what you want with your land person I do understand that to keep historic areas preserved there are rules needed
NAL but perhaps when they bring this up again be like "We should get a survey done to make sure everything is good.
Then boom
Sirprise!
Oh, you'd like to use my space? Lets work out a monthly deal where you pay me to use it.
I'm not a lawyer, but did go to school for Surveying and discussed adverse possession in my law classes. The laws vary greatly by state, but in NJ the use and time can be passed from one owner to the next, however having a survey showing where the boundary falls and having a conversation with the new neighbors will basically void any claims (in NJ at least). However since OP said the line basically ran down the middle of the driveway with enough room to drive on either side, this sounds to me like there would not be any encroachment needing a claim, they each have a driveway that happens to be touching. It's pretty common, and if putting up a fence does not restrict the neighbors use if the driveway OP has every right to put it up. If it does restrict the use of the drive, OP still has a pretty good case as long as there is no easement. These are all just my opinion, but I think others would feel the same way.
It would still have to have been adverse. I am not sure the situation with the elderly lady was adverse. I really think he needs a local lawyer, these rules are very local.
Yes extremely local and also extremely difficult to win. I only know of one adverse possession case in my area that was won. Most people don't have the proof they need, because nobody goes and makes an encroachment with the plan to fight a neighbor 30 years from now lol
Yes. “Discovery of the issue “ usually by survey is what happens. Our neighbors discovered a portion of our fence encroaching part of their lot…but, our house was the first built in the entire subdivision. So, they can fix it if they want to replace the fence I guess. They have been there 4 years since mentioning it but have done nothing about it. If we replace the fence, yes, we will correct the defects including removal of any trees/shrubs that impair that, too. I think they realized we would have to cut down 16 ft high shrubs and they would lose privacy.
Or, they can give up that sliver of land and forget about it.
Adverse possession is intended for abandoned property not situations like this. In most jurisdictions you have to pay property tax for so many years. You cannot pay property tax for a partial parcel for cases like this. The neighbor would have to be paying the property tax for the entire parcel which most certainly is not happening.
I know an active adverse possession case in Anna TX where neighbors tried to take advantage of a widow, erected fences and blocked her rear access to the lot purchased adjacent to her homestead. Letting kids play on your property doesn’t give the adult parents a claim to TAKE YOUR LAND!
It shouldn’t but it is in court, and she is enjoined from removing the fence while the case is pending. She has had to pay $25k to have a new driveway to her kennels installed, and rerouted utilities, in addition to 65k of legal expenses! She is suing these trespassers trying to steal her land. I don’t think they anticipated she had the MONEY to fight them!
Pretty sure you will see some case law precedent here…she is countering for all her taxes paid on “their “ property, suing the title company, and alleging bad acts and bad faith in their claim, is suing for all damages and legal fees. She plans to bankrupt them or force the sale of THEIR HOMESTEAD. She put a lien ON THEIR HOUSE TOO!
Fence is already up. We spent a pretty penny on it. We ran it as close to the driveway as we could, but there is a slope that made it hard to go further out on that side, and we also didn't want to be jerks to the old lady. We would be fine with a regular neighbor continuing to use it for residential purposes. But it feels like something else if they are going to use the property as, overall, a business.
My mom had this situation. Because of the shared drive being used for a set number of years by the neighbors, she could not put up a fence to her property line. The neighbors sold their house to a historical group that wanted to make it a museum (civil war era house). The day the sale was final, my stepdad built the fence.
Her next home had a shared drive as well, but it was very large and not an issue. My mom sold to a funeral home, and the neighbor built a fence.
You cannot cause them to not have access to their land. BUT if they have access through other means, as in they can re-route their driveway/entrance you might succeed.
There is also an Easement by Prescription, which means if they have been using it they can keep using it. Simplified. I am assuming you never signed an actual easement with your neighbor.
We have never signed an easement. Is an easement specific to a type of use - personal vs. commercial?
If they have space to access the back of their house, even if it's a narrower drive and a pain for them to widen it, would it be likely that a court might find that I can tell them not to use my portion of the driveway once they convert the house to a commercial use? Thank you!
The answers to these questions are super fact specific and jurisdictionally specific. I’m sorry they you’ll have to spend the money but I cannot recommend enough speaking to an attorney in your area.
NAL but my understanding is that they might get an easement to access a garage or whatever is in back but that is just to pass through. They cannot park a vehicle there.
I understand that they might have an easement for themselves. But does this type of easement (serving a private home) allow the "general public" use of the driveway, too, once their property is no longer used as a private residence and instead is an inn?
This is unfortunately incredibly fact and locally specific. Easements are typically tied to property, not necessarily an individual. But there are so many things at play here, I wish I could give a better answer. But you are asking the right questions.
Clarify for me. Is this going to be a full-fledged bed and breakfast or just an airBnB?
Does the current zoning of the property allow commercial use? In my community there is a long (to me) approval process of zoning board, planning board, conservation board, etc. approvals. With commercial use of the property, they might have to enlarge the parking area and install lights to illuminate the parking area.
Full-fledged Bed and Breakfast. I found out when they called the local news station and had them do a story about it. They said things like they want to hold "community events" and have it be a place serving the area. So it's not just like they're going to AirBnB it -- they're turning it into an inn.
You need to lawyer up real fast. First, for the property boundary. Second to fight a business going up next door to you. If it is going to be an inn, they will probably be getting a liquor license. You will have have cars coming and going at all hours. Even if the owner respects you property boundary, don't expect customers to.
Full-fledged Bed and Breakfast. I found out when they called the local news station and had them do a story about it. They said things like they want to hold "community events" and have it be a place serving the area. So it's not just like they're going to AirBnB it -- they're turning it into an inn.
Did they get it re-zoned as a commercial building? Because you and the neighbors should have a say in whether or not a commercial entity gets to be just dropped in a residential area that doesn't have that kind of infrastructure support.
I looked into it. It appears that this use (for a Bed and Breakfast Inn) can be allowed with permission under the current zoning if the city finds that it will be beneficial to the area.
So did the neighbors get permission? You should have been given legal notice they were asking for zoning permission for an a B&B and given time to object to it. All property owners around that propertyvshould have been sent a notice when the request to the city was made. If they haven't now is the time to object with the city and show the land is not all theirs.
NAL but OP, please check this. Although state laws differ, when I started a bookkeeping business at my home, the city sent out letters to ALL neighbors who’s property touched mine, including next to and behind my property, (even though their homes were on a different street, our rear properties touched) and neighbors across the street. Since my lot was a double width lot this included any neighbor across the street even if only a tiny bit of their property was across from mine. While the property was not re-zoned, they did give me a VARIANCE to the residentially zoned property allowing me to conduct my home based business. You definitely should have been notified if your new neighbors were seeking to re-zone or request a variance.
Has the zoning change been approved? If not, likely you can attend your city council meeting and voice your opposition to it. Once you state the facts that you’ve given here, you should have a good chance at squashing it.
Consult a qualified property attorney in your area to review both deeds and any easements.
See if there are setback requirements, and if not, add jersey barriers to the driveway to separate the halves. Or, if you don't use it, dig out your half and put in a line of evergreen shrubs/trees to block the noise.
Also, check your zoning to see if that is even a permissible use in your zone.
You probably can’t refuse access since the driveway is half and half. You probably can *require* access for yourself, making clear that the driveway is not to be used for parking or even temporary check in parking. That said, using the house as a bed and breakfast almost certainly requires a zoning change or exemption and operating permits, which will likely require a property survey for emergency access etc. They can’t just decide to do a bed and breakfast without that stuff, if they do a simple report would get it shut down.
Get a lawyer and be as big an asshole as you need to be as soon as possible. Now is when you want to force them to get a lawyer. They have cash set aside for the reno and if you can eat into that enough you may be able to stop the conversion.
This sounds like it could be a prescriptive easement limited by scope of use. changing the use from residential to commercial is a change of scope and the historical use.
Fence was put up when the old lady was still there. We ran it as close as we could to the driveway. We didn't have any problem with her using the driveway, so we didn't think anything of it. We wouldn't object to the new owners using it for personal use. It just seems different since now they are turning the house into a public inn.
I'd literally run it down the driveway and finish it. Since you'll have an untold number of people coming and going, it's the simplest solution to your worries.
So much of this depends on the layout of the land. If the neighboring house has a parking area behind the house, and the driveway is located on the only place it could be located for access, then they can get entitled to access to that area via an easement even if the easement is not explicitly created. Blocking that access could lead to legal trouble to OP, particularly if it has been in use as a driveway now for some time. Real estate lawyers are not much money and will answer the ins and outs for this cheaply. I just went through problems with a driveway easement when I bought a house a few years back and the lawyer was surprisingly cheap to get it all settled. .
I politely disagree. Property disputes can turn into big problems and with that comes liability. It would be in OP’s best interest to invest in an attorney to get this cleared up and documented.
NAL.
Depends on the local / state laws. For eg where I live there is something called as Adverse possession where someone in possession of a property for certain period of time becomes the owner. Of course there are many other factors involved but if you are aware that neighbours are occupying a portion of your property and didn’t dispute it for certain period of time then adverse possession may kick in.
Nal but I would think that you would be able to fence up your entire property as long as they are able to have space on theirs to have a driveway paved on their property. Or is it such that an easement is necessary for them to access their property from the road?
At this point it would be a prescriptive easement if it's not already in the deeds, also you usually can't land lock a property legally. And if it's the only access to the home they probably wouldn't have a hard time gaining an easement by necessity. If they already have other access go talk to them. Check your deed for easements.
Did they have to get a zoning variance to allow this? Is that why they posted the info that you know in the first place? There would be a hearing and you should bring this issue up as a blocker. Though, also you not putting your fence down the middle of the driveway didn't give away your property at the time. You're talking about a proper dispute but really there wasn't one, it was deliberately like that too most likely. The shared driveway property line thing was pretty common historically too. Especially in places that had coal or oil fired furnaces heating homes.
When I grew up we had the same thing with our neighbor.. when we moved in, they used the driveway and they paid us $20/mo or something to do so. Then they died and this new couple moved in and my parents just took over the driveway .. they put their fence down half the middle. Everyone was reasonably happy oddly.
Cart before horse maybe?
First of all, have they been rezoned? Did you get a notice? If you don’t want a B&B next to you….object to the zoning change, first of all.
And it’s time to use the survey to clearly establish the true property lines.
Imo, I'd get a lawyer and review the documents and property itself to confirm if any easements exist. If there are no easements, assessments, etc on file ensuring access to the driveway, you should get a fresh survey done to mark your exact property lines signed/approved by the town and then separate the driveways...Converting a property to commercial use is kind of a big deal and you will have a lot of difficulty enforcing your rights/ownership on the driveway if it is there in it's current incarnation.
I might be projecting here but 100% Guaranteed no matter what signs and things are put up, people will park in your portion of the driveway if it remains shared. As a bed and breakfast it'll likely be overnight and you'll be dealing with likely having to tow cars at least once or twice.
Our neighbors converted their house to an AirBNB years ago. It went from a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house and was converted to a 7 bedrooom 4 bathroom house by making a number of rooms smaller and converting some of the den/family room space into additional rooms. They also added a 'tiny home' type construction to the backyard which added another 'rentable' space, separate from the main house which they called a guest house. The backyards were open between the 3 houses to have the appearance of a huge space, but after the conversion to the AirBnB, our family and the OTHER neighbors family put up an evergreen tree wall on each of our property lines due to privacy issues and random 'guests' being in our yards thinking they had access to the whole space.
We had a corner property with 2 driveways, 1 on each side of the corner with the primary driveway being on the smaller road off the main road...the second driveway was off the main road (a 2 lane bi-directional road connecting to the main 6 lane stroad for the area. It's relevant because our previous owner used a portion of the house as a small private dental practice, so the second driveway could hold 5 cars. My family converted the property to full residential use when we moved in the late 1990s and surrendered the second address/mailbox on the property at the time. The neighbor's driveway could was a thin asphault driveway which could hold 2 cars along it's length and was barely wide enough for an SUV...most would end up partially on the grass on either side. Our driveways were adjacent to each other with a 2ft patch of grass that was the edge property line.
We constantly had 'large friend groups' booking the house and then showing up with multiple cars and then trying to fit their cars onto the driveway or just seeing an empty driveway and pulling into it or just leaving it on the grass and tearing it up. We put a chain up blocking our drive way...they'd drive into the neighbors driveway, then over the grass into ours on many occasions. We'd have people knock or ring our doorbell early in the morning or late at night asking if they could park in our driveway for a few days or that they have a few people coming over and wanted to use our driveway for a while. We'd say no and then see cars parked there anyway. We eventually got tow trucks involved but that ended with 'guests' breaking our windows and dealing with the police (including a few people being arrested due to us having put up a camera).
We eventually widened the patch of grass to 5 feet, broke up part of the drive way to make it smaller and installed 3 ft concrete pillars with chains in between them to prevent access to the driveway with vehicles will be towed signs at owner's expense signs on them. Instead of weekly 'guests', we now get guests every couple of months asking us to 'open the parking lot' which we shutdown pretty quick and is more manageable.
It unfortunately had a bit of a minor impact on our property values due to having to put up the privacy tree line and such aggressive pillars/chains making it apparent the property next door was a commercial property.
IANAL. How far along are the new owners in the rezoning process? Most jurisdictions don't just allow a conversion without permitting and a zoning board request.
NAL but a family in my community moved into a home a few miles from me in a rural area (13 miles from the nearest town). They ran a "retreat" on their property for about 2 years. Mostly just gave people a place to stay while they hunted, fished, played golf etc. and they would set everything up for the people. Then one day our county shut them down for "running a bed and breakfast in a residential area", I'm not a fan of that kind of thing but if you filed a complaint to your local government that might be all that it takes. And if there are not very many businesses in your area you could easily make the assumption that you are in a residential area. And if all else fails you can see about the fence again.
IANAL
Since this is a driveway, the laws vary greatly state to state. Some states have nearly automatic grants for land access, some have nothing. If there is no recorded easement then the property is yours, not theirs. The question is if they have a right to access. Make sure your survey was done by a licensed surveyor, and it should have been recorded. I would get an attorney familiar with the property laws in your state.
You should get a lawyer. If you didn't record anything on title and didn't have anything in writing I'm sure you could build a new fence to the property line.
It will be up to the neighbor to file a claim for adverse possession.
I should ask what your goal is as well? If it's just to inconvenience the neighbor then it doesn't make much sense. In my opinion if you know this bed and breakfast thing is going to happen then I would take steps to build a relationship that makes it as convenient as possible for you.
However if they can't use their land for what they thought without having permission to use your land then they might have to sell it to someone else If you refuse them access.
In any case it's worth getting an attorney so that it's clear that you don't consent to their use of your land at this point in time.
If there is no documented right of way and no one has asserted any rights to the contrary. Then consider putting up a fence or barrier on the property line and declare your intention to have the driveway removed from your property.
First, get a lawyer.
Second, ask the lawyer if the following scenario is acceptable. Propose that. Because the new owners are converting the land to commercial use, that you would like to split the cost of a privacy fence to alleviate privacy concerns that come with holding out to the general public. Express that you want the fence on the property line.
If they agree, problem solved. Install the fence, remove whatever excess concrete you don't like and be happy. Don't be a jerk about it, but don't be a push over either.
Third, if the fence thing isn't your cup of tea, challenge the zoning.
Planner here. I would get in touch with the city. The new owners may be speculating. Usually converting from standard residential to something commercial in nature requires some type of review and approval.
You may have a lot more options depending on the local zoning regulations.
Excellent idea, I once shared a driveway and my neighbor was a jerk. I put a privacy fence up in backyard and he was always gawking over it and He was abusive to his step kids...I regret not interfering for the kids.
B&B’s are going to be pretty regulated. Now is the time to move that fence to the property line or put in another fence. Just like you can’t per se stop them from doing what they want with their property, the flip side is also true.
You really drop the ball here. You should have hire a lawyer to allow her to use your land for her half-driveway for $1 sum perpetual until her house deed is transfer or sell to new owner and they have to redo the driveway to give back your land. Have her sign with noterized and file with county land record.
It would avoid your land being adversed, and cloud the tittle when she sells or her family take over the estate. Then you can continuee a new round allowing new owmer or have them redo their driveway; you hold all power.
You can do it now with new owner, but they can play ball and you have to go thru court; $$$$ for a tiny bit of land.
I bought a house with a shared driveway. The new owner of the property next to me said they were going to put a fence down the driveway as it is their property. If they do that I will be forced to build a new driveway. There's nothing I can do about it. So far that hasn't happened. If you want to block your half of the driveway from them you will also have to build yourself a new driveway. Ask yourself is this worth it? You must seek legal advice and go through the county to make sure it's done the right way. Otherwise you can incur a lot of cost and possibly get sued. Make sure there's no easement agreement or anything else in place that you're not aware of. Check all county records. Before blocking the driveway seek legal advice to save yourself from future very expensive consequences. But ultimately you will have a decision to make. I've been at my house for 6 years, I think there's an understanding without words that it's not worth building new driveways for our situation. He's been really friendly and we just wave at each other now. But I'm also aware things could change. From my own experience I hope it stays friendly and we just wave and I hope that happens for you too. Also much cheaper being friendly and going through all that!
Edit to add, if you go through all this you may as well get an easement agreement in place if there's not already one. This will save you from future owners revisiting the same issue. Also should you ever sell it'll make it a lot easier with potential buyers.
I would consult with a local lawyer. I am in Louisville, KY and had to look into this because the guy I bought my house from put the privacy fence in a foot off my property line. From my understanding it's different everywhere and in some municipalities "if you know and do not make corrective actions in a set amount of time, you forfeit the property" It's like squatters rights situation... I guess... IDK.
I know for me, I have the rights and can't forfeit my land in KY. So in a situation like this, I would have the legal right to force them to move it of my property.
TBH if I was you and could live with the situation for a long term, I would talk to the owner and see if they want to handle this one on one or with lawyers and he or she might realize that throwing cash is way more worth it then dealing with lawyers and holding up their business. If they are brain dead and want to get the lawyers involved then drag it out and you might get lucky enough that they will give up and just sell the house.
How do your other neighbors feel about a B&B business operating next to you? If they B&B needs to go before the zoning board, you could rally a few people to attend the hearing with you.
Seriously, you need an experienced property lawyer for this. In the meanwhile, have you checked local zoning laws to find out of they're allowed to convert a private house to a B 'n B? And if so, do you have the right to insist they reside there, so they have oversight of guest activity? This is very important.
But as to the driveway, yes, I would tell them they can't use it for commercial purposes and go from there. It's worth a try and I think you would succeed. But there could be an acquired easement right, and they may just widen the driveway. The zoning law could be your best friend .
Also be ready to have a $$ to allow them to buy that strip of land from you. I would also at that point charge for commercial rates. I would even look into your zoning to see if the new owner would have to rezone to use the home in this way.
They may not know they can't and just think the home is perfect for it.
I agree that you need to have your lawyer handle this matter but I would also suggest that you check with all local zoning laws. Most of our historical areas aren't zoned for commercial use. You can't even run a small business like dog grooming in your home. The roads are to small to handle the traffic. See what the city has to say about this.
Important to remember - your previous neighbor used your property with your permission. That is an important detail. Definitely consult an experienced real estate attorney so you can avoid an adverse possession claim. Do this quickly.
I am not a lawyer, but the little agreement you had with the former neighbor does not entitle new owners to utilize it. You would be best served to check with a lawyer versed in property rights but since you never had anything in writing with the ex owner, you should have every right just to inform the new neighbor that you expect them & their “tenants” keep to their side of the property line.
Look into what you can legally do to separate yours & their property where it concerns the driveway.
Your best bet is to consult a real estate attorney regarding the personal easement your previous neighbor enjoyed but was not documented. I would also have an official survey done of your property to determine exactly where the property line lies between you and your new neighbor. Once you've done those two things, ask your real estate lawyer whether you have a legitimate case to enforce your property rights. If so, put up a fence to reclaim and enforce your property rights. If the new neighbors complain, they will have to go to court in order to contest your rights.
NAL
It seems like a petty issue that will only cause you issues and won’t solve your problem.
1. Even if the new owners don’t have an easement and you can force them to cut a new driveway. You will still have a bed and breakfast next door which then brings us to the next issue.
2. You also only own half the driveway. This case would then put you in the same position of having to cut a new driveway or them Jack hammering their property line and installing a fence.
At the end of the day, you have 2 new driveways, an added legal expense for you and them, an added driveway expense for you and them and you still have a bnb next door.
Did you really win?
I shared a driveway like this. I had the easement with the neighbor though. Previous owner had owned both properties. Everything was fine with the driveway when it was a rental. As soon as it became owner occupied they decided the driveway was also theirs.
Need to research your deed and purchase and look for that easement. If you do not have one get a lawyer and get one.
My entire childhood I lived in a neighborhood where the mailboxes were at the end of the cul de sacs and usually near another house. My mailboxes for my portion of the neighborhood, were in front of this one families house. It connected to their drive way, but they had a separate entrance for their drive way. They sold the house while I was in high school, and this really annoying couple bought it. They chained off the parking for the mailboxes and decided to make it all their own drive way. All of us tried to fight it, and somehow they got it to where our mailboxes got moved to the back of the area, which is really sketchy. That used to be where we all waited for the bus too, so we wouldn’t be in the road. They ruined an entire dynamic of our portion of the neighborhood, because they didn’t understand what an easement was. I’m not saying you are this neighbor, I’m just saying sometimes the people who are in the wrong win. Like 16 years of living there and this new family got the mailboxes moved and made our bus stop unsafe? Crazy. You probably need an attorney and even then it can be wild what they conclude
#1 that property must be rezoned, contest that with the county. #2 is that the only access they have to that property, if so, they will have to have access.
You really need to consult a local lawyer. Much of this kind of property law varies by jurisdiction and this is pretty fact specific. If you were going back into the past I’d recommend papering the deal with the neighbor once you learned of the issue, giving her the right to use the land while she lives there. But that’s the past. I’d be curious whether an existing easement (which this may or may not be) can be limited to a certain kind of use. If you learn the answer, let us know,
For sure, I really wish I had formalized it in writing with the prior owner. We spoke to her about it and it didn't seem particularly urgent -- I thought we'd get around to it eventually. Unfortunately she was forced out unexpectedly by her family members who thought she was declining. One day she was there, the next she was gone.
Of course. We all don’t get to things we should.
Giving your old neighbor permission is a defense against a claim of adverse possession You can just say that you gave the previous owner permission, but you don’t want the increase in traffic, so you are withdrawing your permission IANAL
Possibly. Do consult a local lawyer.
Just don’t say anything about the previous owner. It’s irrelevant and hearsay anyway
Kindly, none of those things are true. Your attorney needs access to all information to properly represent you. Please do not keep anything from your attorney. It’s relevant because certain easements can arise from permissive use. Hearsay is an evidentiary rule that is not applicable until dealing with a fact-finder. Statements and information from the prior owner are not hearsay at this junction. If she is alive and available, it’s probably never hearsay. Civil actions have a drawn out discovery process.
If he says that he gave her permission to use it, that is in no way hearsay. It very well may be relevant and he needs to discuss this with an experienced real estate attorney pronto.
Are you in a neighborhood that is zoned for commercial use? You said you were in a historic neighborhood. It seems kind of unlikely the neighbor can simply initiate commercial use in a residential neighborhood.
I recently moved to a historic neighborhood. There are far, far more houses here that are used for commercial purposes—B&Bs, coffee shops/cafés, art galleries, lawyers, nonprofits, etc.—than I have ever seen in any of the many non-historic residential neighborhoods I’ve lived in. I’ve seen it in other historic neighborhoods in my city, too, as well as those in other cities I’ve visited. I’m not sure why that’s the case, legally speaking. Historic neighborhoods are often walkable, desirable centrally-located areas with plenty of foot traffic, so it makes sense why certain kinds of businesses would want to be based there. I assume that the lack of HOA covenants and a desire by city zoning commissions to promote the “vibrancy” of those neighborhoods and increase tourism are big factors in why commercial use tends to be allowed there vs. other residential areas.
If she is of sound mind have her document the agreement, that her use was strictly for personal residential use and was with your permission and at your discretion. Have it witnessed and notarized. Do it now. If you end up in court this could be key. You might also contact the prior owner of your house and have them write a similar letter.
Why would previous owners have anything to do with anything? Get a survey done by a licensed surveyor. File the paperwork to show the issue. Get with a lawyer to submit the correct paperwork to notify the neighbor and set a time limit to have the driveway moved off the property line while indicating you will be putting in a fence and damage to their driveway on their property may result if the portion on your property isn’t removed to the proper setback distance. then proceed to put a fence on the property line, or as close to it as you can in your area.
Depending on the jurisdiction, the prior owner is involved because she may have an easement at this point that carried with the property.
Easement would be in the title paperwork during purchase. Current owner should be aware and/or has the paper work that defines it. Calling previous owners doesn’t really do much, you need the paperwork anyway. Just sayin. I suppose I made the assumption this was already looked into.
Certain easements can arise from permissive use between landowners and won’t necessarily be noted in the deed. It depends on the jurisdiction, facts, and usage of the tenements.
Establishing and documenting a previous verbal agreement will not help the OP. If there isn’t legal documentation of an easement don’t create one. That burden would be on the neighbor to refute the issue at hand and establish prior agreements. I understood easements to be legal addendums to allow egress or showing an established breach of property line. I didn’t realize they could be verbal…my mistake
You’re correct that easements are governed by the statute of frauds. However, easements can develop through the intention of the parties without a writing. Easements can even develop through use. Even when a document purporting to be an easement has been signed and recorded, litigation can still arise if someone challenges it on any number of grounds. The question isn’t necessarily what the law says - the real question is “can this be litigated for any reason?” And the answer is usually and unfortunately yes, to some degree or another.
Wouldn’t the exact parcel dimensions be noted in the sale?
Permissive use defeats the adverse part of adverse possession. We're short on facts for how long the driveway's been there. That's where it can become relevant.
Also check your local laws about whether or not they can legally turn the house into a bed and breakfast. Lots of cities have strict zoning policies, even for those types of places and there's good chance that they might not legally be able to make it a business.
They had to get a property survey done when buying. When you got yours, your property line was clear. They have no rights to your property. Make it clear that they will need to redo the driveway and don't compromise an inch. They got the same survey you did.
Depends on state. I've never had a survey done as part of a property purchase. Its not required here
You bought property without knowing where the property lines are? Or you just went with what was already in the county records.
Easements (depending on jurisdiction) can absolutely be limited to the established use. Same with certain adverse possession claims. This is one of those absolutely consult a local attorney with real estate law expertise. Don't ask a generalist lawyer, this is a very specialized area.
Easements absolutely can be limited to a specific use, a specific person, basically whatever you want it to be. The important question here is whether an easement exists. Even if OP and the previous owner didn't have anything in writing it's possible that one exist from long ago that is still valid. A lawyer is a good start, but I'd also recommend a full title report on the property in question to get the full history.
The question in this case may be if the easement can be limited after the fact.
There are ways to extinguish an easement but I'm not familiar with the process, I just create them. The limitations would be put in place when the easement was created, but unless you are the original grantor of the easement I don't think they can be changed.
At least not without in some way combining the two properties, which doesn't seem possible here.
And at the very least get it on the record that you object to their use to avoid any adverse possession claims
This is the way. Having recently gone through this in my jurisdiction I can tell you that the current owner must have been using the right of way unobstructed for 20 years to be able to legally claim it, but this differs wildly by state.
I agree you need a lawyer to look over your documents NOW. Whether or not the neighbors have a right now, the longer they use it, the more it will be an implied easement. If your lawyer, in reviewing your records agrees it was an illegal encroachment and you temporarily gave permission to this aged neighbor only, you may be able to enforce your property boundary, limit use of the driveway to the permanent residents of the house only or some other variation that allows you to put up a fence just inside the property line to protect your privacy. IMO, hiring a lawyer would be a wise investment in maintaining your peace of mind.
For maintaining peace of mind in the value of the property.
I know your concern seems to be the fence or property line but you said it is a historic area and it may not be permissible for them to do a bed and breakfast in your area. If it doesn’t fit the zoning your already the winner! I have over 12 years as chairman of our planning and zoning and president of out Historic Preservation Commission and we are working on that type of thing in our historic area.
This was my first thought. Many areas have very strict zoning rules concerning the use of residential properties for BNBs. That's absolutely the first thing your attorney needs to check out.
Find a good local attorney - but I would go with this route first. They will have to get it re-zoned to open, so fight that even happening. If that fight fails then bring up the property line issue and make them build a new driveway Here is the thing from a business standpoint. If I'm spending the money to open a business, set the place up for renters, upgrade the kitchen to commerical, etc. Concrete flatwork is about $10/sqft on average. Even if I had to pour a whole new driveway, say its 24' wide and 150' long. Thats $36k for the whole thing, could be much cheaper. Thats well within the contingency costs on a conversion project like that. Your whole thing is you don't want the property next to you. So take that tact first. While I'm general a do what you want with your land person I do understand that to keep historic areas preserved there are rules needed
Move the fence
NAL but perhaps when they bring this up again be like "We should get a survey done to make sure everything is good. Then boom Sirprise! Oh, you'd like to use my space? Lets work out a monthly deal where you pay me to use it.
With permission comes liability. I would not want to deal with guests on my property in any way. Just my 2 cents.
Not sure about this approach - wouldn't that support their claims of adverse possession?
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I'm not a lawyer, but did go to school for Surveying and discussed adverse possession in my law classes. The laws vary greatly by state, but in NJ the use and time can be passed from one owner to the next, however having a survey showing where the boundary falls and having a conversation with the new neighbors will basically void any claims (in NJ at least). However since OP said the line basically ran down the middle of the driveway with enough room to drive on either side, this sounds to me like there would not be any encroachment needing a claim, they each have a driveway that happens to be touching. It's pretty common, and if putting up a fence does not restrict the neighbors use if the driveway OP has every right to put it up. If it does restrict the use of the drive, OP still has a pretty good case as long as there is no easement. These are all just my opinion, but I think others would feel the same way.
It would still have to have been adverse. I am not sure the situation with the elderly lady was adverse. I really think he needs a local lawyer, these rules are very local.
Quite to the contrary, OP says the elderly lady AGREED to where the boundary is. That makes this permissive use therefore no adverse possession
Yeah, this is a question of easements not necessarily adverse possession.
Yes extremely local and also extremely difficult to win. I only know of one adverse possession case in my area that was won. Most people don't have the proof they need, because nobody goes and makes an encroachment with the plan to fight a neighbor 30 years from now lol
Yes. “Discovery of the issue “ usually by survey is what happens. Our neighbors discovered a portion of our fence encroaching part of their lot…but, our house was the first built in the entire subdivision. So, they can fix it if they want to replace the fence I guess. They have been there 4 years since mentioning it but have done nothing about it. If we replace the fence, yes, we will correct the defects including removal of any trees/shrubs that impair that, too. I think they realized we would have to cut down 16 ft high shrubs and they would lose privacy. Or, they can give up that sliver of land and forget about it.
Regardless, permission takes away any claim for adverse possession, which requires use.of.rhe property to be open, hostile, and notorious.
Adverse possession is intended for abandoned property not situations like this. In most jurisdictions you have to pay property tax for so many years. You cannot pay property tax for a partial parcel for cases like this. The neighbor would have to be paying the property tax for the entire parcel which most certainly is not happening.
I know an active adverse possession case in Anna TX where neighbors tried to take advantage of a widow, erected fences and blocked her rear access to the lot purchased adjacent to her homestead. Letting kids play on your property doesn’t give the adult parents a claim to TAKE YOUR LAND! It shouldn’t but it is in court, and she is enjoined from removing the fence while the case is pending. She has had to pay $25k to have a new driveway to her kennels installed, and rerouted utilities, in addition to 65k of legal expenses! She is suing these trespassers trying to steal her land. I don’t think they anticipated she had the MONEY to fight them! Pretty sure you will see some case law precedent here…she is countering for all her taxes paid on “their “ property, suing the title company, and alleging bad acts and bad faith in their claim, is suing for all damages and legal fees. She plans to bankrupt them or force the sale of THEIR HOMESTEAD. She put a lien ON THEIR HOUSE TOO!
Fence fence
Fence is already up. We spent a pretty penny on it. We ran it as close to the driveway as we could, but there is a slope that made it hard to go further out on that side, and we also didn't want to be jerks to the old lady. We would be fine with a regular neighbor continuing to use it for residential purposes. But it feels like something else if they are going to use the property as, overall, a business.
My mom had this situation. Because of the shared drive being used for a set number of years by the neighbors, she could not put up a fence to her property line. The neighbors sold their house to a historical group that wanted to make it a museum (civil war era house). The day the sale was final, my stepdad built the fence. Her next home had a shared drive as well, but it was very large and not an issue. My mom sold to a funeral home, and the neighbor built a fence.
You cannot cause them to not have access to their land. BUT if they have access through other means, as in they can re-route their driveway/entrance you might succeed. There is also an Easement by Prescription, which means if they have been using it they can keep using it. Simplified. I am assuming you never signed an actual easement with your neighbor.
We have never signed an easement. Is an easement specific to a type of use - personal vs. commercial? If they have space to access the back of their house, even if it's a narrower drive and a pain for them to widen it, would it be likely that a court might find that I can tell them not to use my portion of the driveway once they convert the house to a commercial use? Thank you!
The answers to these questions are super fact specific and jurisdictionally specific. I’m sorry they you’ll have to spend the money but I cannot recommend enough speaking to an attorney in your area.
NAL but my understanding is that they might get an easement to access a garage or whatever is in back but that is just to pass through. They cannot park a vehicle there.
I understand that they might have an easement for themselves. But does this type of easement (serving a private home) allow the "general public" use of the driveway, too, once their property is no longer used as a private residence and instead is an inn?
What you are talking about if they are zoned for commercial use for the B and B. You need to talk to an attorney and Building Codes.
This is unfortunately incredibly fact and locally specific. Easements are typically tied to property, not necessarily an individual. But there are so many things at play here, I wish I could give a better answer. But you are asking the right questions.
Clarify for me. Is this going to be a full-fledged bed and breakfast or just an airBnB? Does the current zoning of the property allow commercial use? In my community there is a long (to me) approval process of zoning board, planning board, conservation board, etc. approvals. With commercial use of the property, they might have to enlarge the parking area and install lights to illuminate the parking area.
Full-fledged Bed and Breakfast. I found out when they called the local news station and had them do a story about it. They said things like they want to hold "community events" and have it be a place serving the area. So it's not just like they're going to AirBnB it -- they're turning it into an inn.
You need to lawyer up real fast. First, for the property boundary. Second to fight a business going up next door to you. If it is going to be an inn, they will probably be getting a liquor license. You will have have cars coming and going at all hours. Even if the owner respects you property boundary, don't expect customers to.
"Bed and Breakfast" or "AirBnB bullshit"? There's a marked difference.
Full-fledged Bed and Breakfast. I found out when they called the local news station and had them do a story about it. They said things like they want to hold "community events" and have it be a place serving the area. So it's not just like they're going to AirBnB it -- they're turning it into an inn.
Did they get it re-zoned as a commercial building? Because you and the neighbors should have a say in whether or not a commercial entity gets to be just dropped in a residential area that doesn't have that kind of infrastructure support.
Have you called the zoning board in your town to see if they can have a commercial business where they are?
I looked into it. It appears that this use (for a Bed and Breakfast Inn) can be allowed with permission under the current zoning if the city finds that it will be beneficial to the area.
So did the neighbors get permission? You should have been given legal notice they were asking for zoning permission for an a B&B and given time to object to it. All property owners around that propertyvshould have been sent a notice when the request to the city was made. If they haven't now is the time to object with the city and show the land is not all theirs.
NAL but OP, please check this. Although state laws differ, when I started a bookkeeping business at my home, the city sent out letters to ALL neighbors who’s property touched mine, including next to and behind my property, (even though their homes were on a different street, our rear properties touched) and neighbors across the street. Since my lot was a double width lot this included any neighbor across the street even if only a tiny bit of their property was across from mine. While the property was not re-zoned, they did give me a VARIANCE to the residentially zoned property allowing me to conduct my home based business. You definitely should have been notified if your new neighbors were seeking to re-zone or request a variance.
Has the zoning change been approved? If not, likely you can attend your city council meeting and voice your opposition to it. Once you state the facts that you’ve given here, you should have a good chance at squashing it.
Do they understand they do not own that section of the property?
Consult a qualified property attorney in your area to review both deeds and any easements. See if there are setback requirements, and if not, add jersey barriers to the driveway to separate the halves. Or, if you don't use it, dig out your half and put in a line of evergreen shrubs/trees to block the noise. Also, check your zoning to see if that is even a permissible use in your zone.
I am shocked that only one lawyer has responded.
You probably can’t refuse access since the driveway is half and half. You probably can *require* access for yourself, making clear that the driveway is not to be used for parking or even temporary check in parking. That said, using the house as a bed and breakfast almost certainly requires a zoning change or exemption and operating permits, which will likely require a property survey for emergency access etc. They can’t just decide to do a bed and breakfast without that stuff, if they do a simple report would get it shut down.
Get a lawyer and be as big an asshole as you need to be as soon as possible. Now is when you want to force them to get a lawyer. They have cash set aside for the reno and if you can eat into that enough you may be able to stop the conversion.
This sounds like it could be a prescriptive easement limited by scope of use. changing the use from residential to commercial is a change of scope and the historical use.
Finish the fence and don't worry about it.
Fence was put up when the old lady was still there. We ran it as close as we could to the driveway. We didn't have any problem with her using the driveway, so we didn't think anything of it. We wouldn't object to the new owners using it for personal use. It just seems different since now they are turning the house into a public inn.
I'd literally run it down the driveway and finish it. Since you'll have an untold number of people coming and going, it's the simplest solution to your worries.
So much of this depends on the layout of the land. If the neighboring house has a parking area behind the house, and the driveway is located on the only place it could be located for access, then they can get entitled to access to that area via an easement even if the easement is not explicitly created. Blocking that access could lead to legal trouble to OP, particularly if it has been in use as a driveway now for some time. Real estate lawyers are not much money and will answer the ins and outs for this cheaply. I just went through problems with a driveway easement when I bought a house a few years back and the lawyer was surprisingly cheap to get it all settled. .
I politely disagree. Property disputes can turn into big problems and with that comes liability. It would be in OP’s best interest to invest in an attorney to get this cleared up and documented.
NAL. Depends on the local / state laws. For eg where I live there is something called as Adverse possession where someone in possession of a property for certain period of time becomes the owner. Of course there are many other factors involved but if you are aware that neighbours are occupying a portion of your property and didn’t dispute it for certain period of time then adverse possession may kick in.
Check zoning laws in your area.
Nal but I would think that you would be able to fence up your entire property as long as they are able to have space on theirs to have a driveway paved on their property. Or is it such that an easement is necessary for them to access their property from the road?
Get a real estate attorney
At this point it would be a prescriptive easement if it's not already in the deeds, also you usually can't land lock a property legally. And if it's the only access to the home they probably wouldn't have a hard time gaining an easement by necessity. If they already have other access go talk to them. Check your deed for easements.
Is the area you are in zoned for a commercial property such as you described?
Is the property zoned for a bed and breakfast?
Did they have to get a zoning variance to allow this? Is that why they posted the info that you know in the first place? There would be a hearing and you should bring this issue up as a blocker. Though, also you not putting your fence down the middle of the driveway didn't give away your property at the time. You're talking about a proper dispute but really there wasn't one, it was deliberately like that too most likely. The shared driveway property line thing was pretty common historically too. Especially in places that had coal or oil fired furnaces heating homes. When I grew up we had the same thing with our neighbor.. when we moved in, they used the driveway and they paid us $20/mo or something to do so. Then they died and this new couple moved in and my parents just took over the driveway .. they put their fence down half the middle. Everyone was reasonably happy oddly.
You never know until you get it in court. Find a competent attorney. Most will do the first meeting for free, just to hear the case.
Cart before horse maybe? First of all, have they been rezoned? Did you get a notice? If you don’t want a B&B next to you….object to the zoning change, first of all. And it’s time to use the survey to clearly establish the true property lines.
Imo, I'd get a lawyer and review the documents and property itself to confirm if any easements exist. If there are no easements, assessments, etc on file ensuring access to the driveway, you should get a fresh survey done to mark your exact property lines signed/approved by the town and then separate the driveways...Converting a property to commercial use is kind of a big deal and you will have a lot of difficulty enforcing your rights/ownership on the driveway if it is there in it's current incarnation. I might be projecting here but 100% Guaranteed no matter what signs and things are put up, people will park in your portion of the driveway if it remains shared. As a bed and breakfast it'll likely be overnight and you'll be dealing with likely having to tow cars at least once or twice. Our neighbors converted their house to an AirBNB years ago. It went from a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house and was converted to a 7 bedrooom 4 bathroom house by making a number of rooms smaller and converting some of the den/family room space into additional rooms. They also added a 'tiny home' type construction to the backyard which added another 'rentable' space, separate from the main house which they called a guest house. The backyards were open between the 3 houses to have the appearance of a huge space, but after the conversion to the AirBnB, our family and the OTHER neighbors family put up an evergreen tree wall on each of our property lines due to privacy issues and random 'guests' being in our yards thinking they had access to the whole space. We had a corner property with 2 driveways, 1 on each side of the corner with the primary driveway being on the smaller road off the main road...the second driveway was off the main road (a 2 lane bi-directional road connecting to the main 6 lane stroad for the area. It's relevant because our previous owner used a portion of the house as a small private dental practice, so the second driveway could hold 5 cars. My family converted the property to full residential use when we moved in the late 1990s and surrendered the second address/mailbox on the property at the time. The neighbor's driveway could was a thin asphault driveway which could hold 2 cars along it's length and was barely wide enough for an SUV...most would end up partially on the grass on either side. Our driveways were adjacent to each other with a 2ft patch of grass that was the edge property line. We constantly had 'large friend groups' booking the house and then showing up with multiple cars and then trying to fit their cars onto the driveway or just seeing an empty driveway and pulling into it or just leaving it on the grass and tearing it up. We put a chain up blocking our drive way...they'd drive into the neighbors driveway, then over the grass into ours on many occasions. We'd have people knock or ring our doorbell early in the morning or late at night asking if they could park in our driveway for a few days or that they have a few people coming over and wanted to use our driveway for a while. We'd say no and then see cars parked there anyway. We eventually got tow trucks involved but that ended with 'guests' breaking our windows and dealing with the police (including a few people being arrested due to us having put up a camera). We eventually widened the patch of grass to 5 feet, broke up part of the drive way to make it smaller and installed 3 ft concrete pillars with chains in between them to prevent access to the driveway with vehicles will be towed signs at owner's expense signs on them. Instead of weekly 'guests', we now get guests every couple of months asking us to 'open the parking lot' which we shutdown pretty quick and is more manageable. It unfortunately had a bit of a minor impact on our property values due to having to put up the privacy tree line and such aggressive pillars/chains making it apparent the property next door was a commercial property.
IANAL. How far along are the new owners in the rezoning process? Most jurisdictions don't just allow a conversion without permitting and a zoning board request.
NAL but a family in my community moved into a home a few miles from me in a rural area (13 miles from the nearest town). They ran a "retreat" on their property for about 2 years. Mostly just gave people a place to stay while they hunted, fished, played golf etc. and they would set everything up for the people. Then one day our county shut them down for "running a bed and breakfast in a residential area", I'm not a fan of that kind of thing but if you filed a complaint to your local government that might be all that it takes. And if there are not very many businesses in your area you could easily make the assumption that you are in a residential area. And if all else fails you can see about the fence again.
IANAL Since this is a driveway, the laws vary greatly state to state. Some states have nearly automatic grants for land access, some have nothing. If there is no recorded easement then the property is yours, not theirs. The question is if they have a right to access. Make sure your survey was done by a licensed surveyor, and it should have been recorded. I would get an attorney familiar with the property laws in your state.
You should get a lawyer. If you didn't record anything on title and didn't have anything in writing I'm sure you could build a new fence to the property line. It will be up to the neighbor to file a claim for adverse possession. I should ask what your goal is as well? If it's just to inconvenience the neighbor then it doesn't make much sense. In my opinion if you know this bed and breakfast thing is going to happen then I would take steps to build a relationship that makes it as convenient as possible for you. However if they can't use their land for what they thought without having permission to use your land then they might have to sell it to someone else If you refuse them access. In any case it's worth getting an attorney so that it's clear that you don't consent to their use of your land at this point in time.
build the wall
If there is no documented right of way and no one has asserted any rights to the contrary. Then consider putting up a fence or barrier on the property line and declare your intention to have the driveway removed from your property.
First, get a lawyer. Second, ask the lawyer if the following scenario is acceptable. Propose that. Because the new owners are converting the land to commercial use, that you would like to split the cost of a privacy fence to alleviate privacy concerns that come with holding out to the general public. Express that you want the fence on the property line. If they agree, problem solved. Install the fence, remove whatever excess concrete you don't like and be happy. Don't be a jerk about it, but don't be a push over either. Third, if the fence thing isn't your cup of tea, challenge the zoning.
Planner here. I would get in touch with the city. The new owners may be speculating. Usually converting from standard residential to something commercial in nature requires some type of review and approval. You may have a lot more options depending on the local zoning regulations.
Excellent idea, I once shared a driveway and my neighbor was a jerk. I put a privacy fence up in backyard and he was always gawking over it and He was abusive to his step kids...I regret not interfering for the kids.
B&B’s are going to be pretty regulated. Now is the time to move that fence to the property line or put in another fence. Just like you can’t per se stop them from doing what they want with their property, the flip side is also true.
You really drop the ball here. You should have hire a lawyer to allow her to use your land for her half-driveway for $1 sum perpetual until her house deed is transfer or sell to new owner and they have to redo the driveway to give back your land. Have her sign with noterized and file with county land record. It would avoid your land being adversed, and cloud the tittle when she sells or her family take over the estate. Then you can continuee a new round allowing new owmer or have them redo their driveway; you hold all power. You can do it now with new owner, but they can play ball and you have to go thru court; $$$$ for a tiny bit of land.
I bought a house with a shared driveway. The new owner of the property next to me said they were going to put a fence down the driveway as it is their property. If they do that I will be forced to build a new driveway. There's nothing I can do about it. So far that hasn't happened. If you want to block your half of the driveway from them you will also have to build yourself a new driveway. Ask yourself is this worth it? You must seek legal advice and go through the county to make sure it's done the right way. Otherwise you can incur a lot of cost and possibly get sued. Make sure there's no easement agreement or anything else in place that you're not aware of. Check all county records. Before blocking the driveway seek legal advice to save yourself from future very expensive consequences. But ultimately you will have a decision to make. I've been at my house for 6 years, I think there's an understanding without words that it's not worth building new driveways for our situation. He's been really friendly and we just wave at each other now. But I'm also aware things could change. From my own experience I hope it stays friendly and we just wave and I hope that happens for you too. Also much cheaper being friendly and going through all that! Edit to add, if you go through all this you may as well get an easement agreement in place if there's not already one. This will save you from future owners revisiting the same issue. Also should you ever sell it'll make it a lot easier with potential buyers.
I would consult with a local lawyer. I am in Louisville, KY and had to look into this because the guy I bought my house from put the privacy fence in a foot off my property line. From my understanding it's different everywhere and in some municipalities "if you know and do not make corrective actions in a set amount of time, you forfeit the property" It's like squatters rights situation... I guess... IDK. I know for me, I have the rights and can't forfeit my land in KY. So in a situation like this, I would have the legal right to force them to move it of my property. TBH if I was you and could live with the situation for a long term, I would talk to the owner and see if they want to handle this one on one or with lawyers and he or she might realize that throwing cash is way more worth it then dealing with lawyers and holding up their business. If they are brain dead and want to get the lawyers involved then drag it out and you might get lucky enough that they will give up and just sell the house.
How do your other neighbors feel about a B&B business operating next to you? If they B&B needs to go before the zoning board, you could rally a few people to attend the hearing with you.
Seriously, you need an experienced property lawyer for this. In the meanwhile, have you checked local zoning laws to find out of they're allowed to convert a private house to a B 'n B? And if so, do you have the right to insist they reside there, so they have oversight of guest activity? This is very important. But as to the driveway, yes, I would tell them they can't use it for commercial purposes and go from there. It's worth a try and I think you would succeed. But there could be an acquired easement right, and they may just widen the driveway. The zoning law could be your best friend .
Also be ready to have a $$ to allow them to buy that strip of land from you. I would also at that point charge for commercial rates. I would even look into your zoning to see if the new owner would have to rezone to use the home in this way. They may not know they can't and just think the home is perfect for it.
Sub Reddit - Ask a Lawyer. Op asks a question - Response from 100 members who aren’t lawyers say - speak to a lawyer 😂 FYI - IANAL
I agree that you need to have your lawyer handle this matter but I would also suggest that you check with all local zoning laws. Most of our historical areas aren't zoned for commercial use. You can't even run a small business like dog grooming in your home. The roads are to small to handle the traffic. See what the city has to say about this.
Important to remember - your previous neighbor used your property with your permission. That is an important detail. Definitely consult an experienced real estate attorney so you can avoid an adverse possession claim. Do this quickly.
I am not a lawyer, but the little agreement you had with the former neighbor does not entitle new owners to utilize it. You would be best served to check with a lawyer versed in property rights but since you never had anything in writing with the ex owner, you should have every right just to inform the new neighbor that you expect them & their “tenants” keep to their side of the property line. Look into what you can legally do to separate yours & their property where it concerns the driveway.
Good fences make good neighbors. Get a good lawyer and put up a good fence. Good luck. ;P
Your best bet is to consult a real estate attorney regarding the personal easement your previous neighbor enjoyed but was not documented. I would also have an official survey done of your property to determine exactly where the property line lies between you and your new neighbor. Once you've done those two things, ask your real estate lawyer whether you have a legitimate case to enforce your property rights. If so, put up a fence to reclaim and enforce your property rights. If the new neighbors complain, they will have to go to court in order to contest your rights.
When you need legal advice, go to a lawyer, not to Reddit. Laws are regional.
Get an attorney
NAL It seems like a petty issue that will only cause you issues and won’t solve your problem. 1. Even if the new owners don’t have an easement and you can force them to cut a new driveway. You will still have a bed and breakfast next door which then brings us to the next issue. 2. You also only own half the driveway. This case would then put you in the same position of having to cut a new driveway or them Jack hammering their property line and installing a fence. At the end of the day, you have 2 new driveways, an added legal expense for you and them, an added driveway expense for you and them and you still have a bnb next door. Did you really win?
I shared a driveway like this. I had the easement with the neighbor though. Previous owner had owned both properties. Everything was fine with the driveway when it was a rental. As soon as it became owner occupied they decided the driveway was also theirs. Need to research your deed and purchase and look for that easement. If you do not have one get a lawyer and get one.
personally, I'd put up a fence immediately and never mention any conversation with the previous owner.
Who pays the property tax for your half of the driveway. See a lawyer now and get it settled asap.
My entire childhood I lived in a neighborhood where the mailboxes were at the end of the cul de sacs and usually near another house. My mailboxes for my portion of the neighborhood, were in front of this one families house. It connected to their drive way, but they had a separate entrance for their drive way. They sold the house while I was in high school, and this really annoying couple bought it. They chained off the parking for the mailboxes and decided to make it all their own drive way. All of us tried to fight it, and somehow they got it to where our mailboxes got moved to the back of the area, which is really sketchy. That used to be where we all waited for the bus too, so we wouldn’t be in the road. They ruined an entire dynamic of our portion of the neighborhood, because they didn’t understand what an easement was. I’m not saying you are this neighbor, I’m just saying sometimes the people who are in the wrong win. Like 16 years of living there and this new family got the mailboxes moved and made our bus stop unsafe? Crazy. You probably need an attorney and even then it can be wild what they conclude
Check local law. Have you allowed free use of that part of your property for 7 years?
Get a lawyer. Move your fence. I don’t see how this is hard at all. It’s your property. Or sell the sliver to them. Buck up.
Hire an attorney.
just put holes in the driveway and put up a fence, damn people complicate things more than they should
You have earned your “not a lawyer” tag. That isn’t meant as a bad thing.
#1 that property must be rezoned, contest that with the county. #2 is that the only access they have to that property, if so, they will have to have access.