Split lot zoning for driveways... (West: lawyers, house, transfer)

[Ben180]

Does anyone know what the zoning laws are for a driveway on split lots? I'm looking at a home with a single driveway for both properties, but the driveway would be on my lot, and would like to know; Who has the rights to the driveway? (There is also an alleyway behind the other property)

[FalconheadWest]

You would need to look at the survey as well as the title as those items would tell you about any easements on your property.

[TexasHorseLady]

As FalconheadWest said, this is a matter of easements, not zoning, generally, and if there is (as is likely) an easement for the other property to use the driveway, it should appear on the survey.

[Komeht]

There are all sorts of easements - most would likely be recorded but not all. For instance you could have an easement by necessity if your property were the only way to have access to the road or an easement by implication, etc. If the driveway in question has been long used by both properties there is almost certainly an easement of some kind whether by prescription, estoppel, grant, implication reservation, necessity or otherwise.

Sometimes easements are transferable and are appurtenant to the land. Other times they are vested in a specific person (in gross) and generally not transferable. Easements can be a tricky little area of the law but most lawyers can help you with discerning what you have and the implications on the property. If the easement was recorded then title company should be able to explain it to you.

I can, however, think of an instance where zoning might be an issue - suppose you wanted to renovate and put an addition onto the house but were running into McMansion or impervious cover restrictions. If there wasn't an easement you might be able to remove the driveway so as to avoid or get around the restrictions. But the easement might require that the driveway always be in place to give access to the dominant (benefited) estate in which case you might not be able to put the addition onto the house.

[Ben180]

Thanks, for all the awesome feedback