Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Right to Enter Neighbor's Property for Repair

In addition to Mr. Whipple's response you may wish to contact the San Francisco planning and building department. San Francisco established the 0 lot line policy and should have included some provision for repairs.

Re: Right to Enter Neighbor's Property for Repair

After some research on WestLaw for California cases or statutes on "zero lot line" "party wall" and related terms, I found no statute or appellate case on point.

Cases discussing party walls seem to assume that htey exist pursuant to an easement. Whether this is because the neighboring owners usually enter into an express easement agreement before undertaking the construction of a party wall, or because by constructing one they grant each other easements by necessary implication, I don't know.

As a practical matter, I think you should search your title and review your title insurance policy to see if there is any reference to an express easement for the party wall.

If there isn't, maybe you can argue that the presence of the wall creates an implied easement or easement by prescription.

Once you can establish the existence of an easement, whether express or implied, then you would argue that every easement includes whatever rights are reasonably necessary for its maintenance for ongoing use, and that ordinarily also includes entering the surrounding parts of the servient estate when necessary to carry out maintenance.

This is not a sure-fire argument, but it seems basically legally sound to me.