Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington
property easement
While living in another state, I bought a home in Washington in September of 2003 and afterwards discovered that part of my neighbor's driveway is on my property (they bought their home a month prior to my home purchase). I was unaware of the location of the driveway upon my purchase (there was no survey conducted). Our neighbors are now splitting their property and building a new home which will be sold, and they are not putting in a driveway to this second home but rather using their pre-existing driveway (in other words their driveway will now serve two homes). Do they have a right to extend use of the driveway (given that part of it is on my land) to an additional person without my consent? Also, I am interested in building a garage on my property which may interfer with their driveway (the portion on my land). Am I legally able to do this?
Thanks for your response.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: property easement
Your question is fairly common. The answer largely depends on the scope of the easement and whether the dominant tenant (i.e. your neighber) has abused their rights under the easement.
Building a garage that infringes on the easement rights is not a good idea unless you are fairly certain that the easement is either invalid or non-existant.
I recommend you contact an attorney that can fully research the language of the easement and how it applies to your situation. Feel free to contact me to discuss this matter in more detail.
Re: property easement
Adding to the comments that Mr. King left you, I would say that a lot may depend on what was written in the purchase papers for both properties, i.e., is there a map and a description of the boundaries of each property? You may also want to verify that there is in fact an easement giving your neighbor the right to build a driveway on part of your property.
As to the garage, ultimately, you may be able to build it. I would not recommend doing it before either coming to an agreement with your neighbor, or (if negotiations do not work) bringing an action so that a court may determine whose driveway it is.
Each side may have a lot of good and bad points, which is why I recommend you consult an attorney. I would be happy to speak to you about this matter, and provide you with a free consultation.
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