Squtters rights?

Question

I have a question about a rental house I own.  In short I bought the house in 2003, and moved out in 2007 and it has been a rental house since.  The houses adjacent to mine are relatively close together and the neighbor to the north has decided to plant some small brush things between our houses as a way to maintain that space.  I have had Landscaping Agreements with all my renters that states they are responsible for maintaining the yard, etc.  How legal is it for the next door neighbor to claim legal squatter rights on the space between our houses?  She never asked me about the plantings and I have never made a big deal about it because I figured "her money and her time" if she wantsntondo something like that.  This particular neighbor is kind of conniving so my partner wants me to be careful of what the neighbor's true intentions might be.  Can someone help me with this and maybe give me advicebon how to fix it before it might be too late?

William D. · Answer

Just to add to the adverse possession or prescriptive easement issue, the best way to combat the problem as the fee owner who is subject to the loss via adverse possession is to record on the land records a notice. Some states have statutes regarding the language of the notice and whether it has to be served but it is the typical penny wise/pound foolish example to not spend a couple dollars to protect your rights.

Dick M. · Answer

I don't believe plants count, they have to need the land for access the theirs. At least that's what I was told here in Maine

Misty Gonzales · Answer

Yes, adverse possession is the correct phrase.

Thanks for the information and I apologize for the typos.  I was on my iPad at lunch and wanted to get something out quickly.  This particular neighbor bought the house in about 2006 or so, so for the 3 years prior to her moving in *I* took care of the space between the houses because 1) it didn't take that long and 2) that's just what you *do*.  Then after she moved in we took turns or took care of our own portion of the space before I had turned the house into a rental in 2007.  The houses are probably only 8' or 10' apart at a length of about 50' and it never required that much upkeep.  I haven't checked local code but I've heard that putting in a fence to separate the properties would be a fire hazard (fire jumping from her house to the fence to mine or vice versa and/or the firefighters not being able to get between the houses because of lack of space to do so if a fence was up).

I am noticing that the neighbors on either side are becoming more challenging the longer I keep the house as a rental.  It seems they never want to say anything to ME about their issues, but rather go through my tenants.  I have tried to sell it to be done with the drama but the market up here (WA State) is so saturated with foreclosures that I can't off-load it right now so I'm trying to do what I can to rent it out, be respectful of the neighbors and bide my time until I can sell the house.

I am going to take your advice and talk to her about the plants and (because I believe they are planted on her side but growing into mine) tell her that I will keep them cut back and/or give her the opportunity to move them.  I don't want to make a big deal out of this (although something tells me it will be) but I also want to protect myself and my property.

Thank you both for your quick responses!

Carlos Flores · Answer

Welcome to BP Misty.  Do you mean encroachment?  Pull out your survey so you can see exactly where the line is. Then send her a letter to remove whatever from your property by xx date or better yet have your attorney send her the letter.  I'm not a lawyer and not familiar with next steps, but it seems to me that you need to protect your rights (in writing).

Jon Holdman · Answer

"Squatters rights" is the wrong term.  What you mean is "adverse possession".  If someone openly uses someone else property for a long time (many years), they can make an adverse possession claim for that property.  It happened here recently.  One owner had a path across the adjacent owner's property.  After many years, the second owner started to build a house and blocked off the path.  The first owner claimed adverse possession because they had openly used the path for the required number of years.

I doubt it applies yet.  But 10 or 20 years from now, if you do nothing, your neighbor could make such a claim on your property.

You should let her know that you realize she has planted plants on your property.  It would be best if you asked her to remove them or removed them yourself.  Or, if they're on her side but sticking over, you could trim them along the line.