Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

We have an HOA and a lot which is a flag lot (L-shaped), this gives us a long driveway and our home sits off of the main road. The HOA walks the lenth of our driveway to access our property. Once our car which was backed in (tires on drive, trunk hanging over grass), had its cover removed to check on the tags of the car. The HOA would have had to come up the 100 foot drive, on to our front yard, remove the car cover to view the vehicle plates. They claim that our driveway is an easment and it is ok for them to walk up our driveway to conduct inspections. Once they sent us a cease and desist from stopping them from using the driveway to check on our property and a near by retention basin. There is an area they can jump the fense and check on this...not on our property. We come home and 3 individuals are walking up and down our drive way. The easment is along our driveway to a point then goes away between our driveway and the retention basin so they must stop when the easement stops. The HOA continues to walk the lengh of our driveway. We concider this our property. The HOA should go on other side of fence to do the inspection. We realize there are common area's but our drive way isn't one of them.

Asked on 3/13/11, 8:42 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

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I assume the driveway easement is set up with the HOA (or the condominium it runs) owning the underlying real property, and you owning the easement. Not that it makes much difference; if it were the other way around, the inspectors or whatever they are would still have pretty much the same rights. They can do their strolls. Anyway, at the point the easement ends and your private property begins, these inspecting individuals become trespassers. They have no right to walk off the easement onto your private, separate property. Now. instead of getting hyper-legal about their rights, why can't you just negotiate this problem? Why do they need to be peeking at your license tags? This all seems so unnecessary. Talk it over. Find an answer.

Answered on 3/13/11, 9:07 pm

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