Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Shared well

Currently I own a cottage at a lake community in Pennsylvania. When the house was originally purchased by my grandfather, a water well was put in to service his house and the house of his mother. Both parties paid for the well. Since both my grandfather and his mother have now passed away, each cottage belongs to a different party. The cottage that belonged to his mother controled the water and has since decided to cut us off from the well. Is this legal? I have a bill of sale stating that they both purchased the well. What rights do I have and how would I go about handling this?


Asked on 6/30/00, 9:50 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: Shared well

If the well was the only source of water supply, you may have an inherent contract to continue the supply. Was anything in the Deed from your greatgrandmother regarding the well? If so, this may be a covenant running with the land which entitles you to continued service. If not, but you can establish the contribution to the original cost of installation and continuing sharing of the costs, you may be able to verify your right to continued usage and impose your rights against the other landowner. This may require a lawsuit against the current owner of the other property.

Read more
Answered on 9/08/00, 12:09 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in Pennsylvania