Property ownership and easement (tenants, landlord, attorney, vent)
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Can anyone tell me the law in SC ragarding my issue? I own a patio home and according to the plat, I own 3 feet f property on each side of my home. On one side is a path between my home and another that leads to my back yard. On the other side is a path leading to my neighbors back yard. Acording to the plat, my property is 3 feet of both paths. However, there is a gate at the beginning of each path and an easment has been put on each path. On the side of my home where the path is leading to my neighbor's back yard is my electric and gas meter, my cable , internet, and phone line, and my dryer vent to the outside. My problem is when it rains, my dryer vent gets clogged and my dryer will not work so I have to go clear it of debris. Up until now, this has not been a problem but my neighbor has rented the home and the new tenant has placed a lock on the gate. The paths are shown on the plat as easement areas but 3 feet of the area is still my property. Does this neighbor have a right to lock the gate and keep me from my own property? They say the easement is for maintenance reasons only and I should give the girl 24 hour notice to unlock the gate. The thing is, I do not have 24 hours to wait when my clothes are wet. I say it is against he law to lock e out of the area since I do own part of it and since it is an easement area. Does anyone know?
Who is ' They" that is saying you have to give 24 hours notice ? Tell " them" you need to see in writing where this rule is.
I sounds as if the easement is wider than 3' ( perhaps 6' in total) and each home has an easement over the other to access side yards and backyards.
Is there a HOA association in charge of interpreting easement rules? Basically I'd say the tenant cannot lock the gate and keep you from your own land and recorded easement.
Is there some way to put up a gate further down the pathway beyond where you utility boxes/ dryer vent are ? Have you spoken to the owner ( not the tenant ) of the other home about this issue. ?
If it is an easement - whether granted TO the house next door or to YOU from them, it cannot be blocked. Contact the owner of the property next door and inform him/her that the tenant is blocking access to your utilities and insisting you give 24 hour notice.
Since you are not entering the dwelling next door, notice is not required in most jurisdictions. But also, your access to your property or your use of the easement from them cannot be blocked, just as you cannot block an easement which your property granted to another.
If you do not receive a favorable response from either the landlord next door or the tenant, then you will need to contact a real estate attorney.
If your electric and gas meter are behind this lock, I suspect you will be hearing from your utilities providers very soon. I'm fairly sure that they can not be barred from access to reading the meters.
But, I would still call the owners of the property and tell them their tenants need to remove the lock.
No one here will know what your HOA can or cannot do. You should look at a copy of their rules or covenants yourself and make this call. Same thing with an easement. Easements are typically recorded instruments that grant certain rights to others. Get a copy of them and read them. If you don't understand it, get an attorney's opinion. But first, just call the owner like someone said and get the locked removed if possible.
If they is the tenant then they may be confusing you with the landlord that may have to give 24 hours notice to the tenant. Sounds like a tenant issue that the landlord needs to know about and fix. If its a shared gate the tenant cannot deny you access. Your hoa docs probably say the gates can't be locked.
Ding ding ding. Tell them you need access for repairs, utilities and emrgencies. It was nice of them to lock the gate to keep the area secure, but would they please provide you with a key.
BTW, you should get a little hood to put over your dryer so the rain doesn't soak the end of the pipe. Make sure to keep a mesh screen in there...1/2 inch mesh, or so..to keep out the birds.
Just play it straight up...firmly.....not open for discussion. Have them give YOU the key and You make the copy...otherwsie, procrastination with take hold.
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