Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: My Pump House on the Neighbors Property!

You have an easement by prescription to keep the pump house in place. If your neighbor disputes this you may need to sue for declaratory relief. If he acknowledges this it would be a good idea to get a written easement drawn up and recorded that will protect you both.

Re: My Pump House on the Neighbors Property!

By coincidence, my pump house and well are also on my neighbor's property. In my case, it wasn't an accident; the property was subdivided and my well, pump house, power line and water supply line all ended up on the split-off parcel. The prior owner who did the lot split retained an easement for the water facilities, so my right to use, access and maintain the water facilities is unquestioned.

In your case, it's almost a certainty that you have acquired a prescriptive easement for the location, existence, maintenance and use of the portion of the pump house and related facilities, as well (no pun intended) as the right to pump the water, if the actual borehole should happen to be on the neighbor's property also.

In order to obtain a clear, "of record" right, based on your claim of an easement by prescription, you'll need to file and prosecute a quiet-title action in your county's Superior Court. If well prepared and properly explained to the neighbor, the suit should sail through court and result in a judgment in your favor in short order.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss a quick and economical handling of such a quiet title action, or for further discussion of how prescriptive easement arise and how they are turned into recorded rights through quieting title in them.