Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
We recently bought a house with a long driveway. Our house sits behinds another house. We own the driveway but our neighbors in the house in front of us have the right to use it in order to park in the back of their house. When we moved in, there was no driveway but mud. When we wanted to pave the driveway, we contacted the owner and he told us that he couldn't afford to share in the costs. So we put crusher run on the front half of the driveway and the other half, past the backyard of the neighbor's house, we put asphalt. A year later, the crusher run is ruined and the front of the driveway puddles and gets really muddy when it rains. Mud was also tracked from the neighbors backyard onto the driveway.
My question is, is our neighbor legally responsible for sharing the costs of maintaining the driveway and repaving it?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Many times these issues are dealt with under local code. For example, in Nassau County, Town of Hempstead, local code dictates that a retaining wall between two property owners must be maintained by both owners.
Therefore, I would contact the Town Attorney or Clerk and ask if there is a law concerning maintenance for a common driveway.
Mike.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
