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driveway easement

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jgnat1488

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Va.
Hello,
I am stuck! The deal is that I have 20+ acres that is land locked. The land was owned by family and then sold to me. To access the land you must pass down a 1/4 mile road. This road is the question. Vdot will not issue a driveway permit, they say I must have something from the land owner giving me permission. This road IS wholy on one piece of property. Now for history of road. It was a COUNTY road back in the 1930's. It has been used as access to my property for the last 25years. The owner of the land the road is on has not paid taxes since 1986!!! I beleive he is dead and dint leave the land to anyone. What, if anything do i need to get legal proof of access? I must have a VDOT permit befor the county will issue a building permit. Since this is my only access to my land, can the county or VDOT keep me from building on it??
 


danno6925

Member
Driveway

Have you tried to speak with any of the other adjoining landowners? If you have 20 acres, someone must own the surrounding property, right?

Maybe you could contact someone who's alive, and have them grant you an easement. Besides, you then wouldn't have to worry about paying the back taxes on the current driveway.
 

lwpat

Senior Member
If taxes haven't been paid in 20 years I can't imagine that the County has not sold the property for the back taxes. You need to do some more checking to see who has title. Your other option is to bring suit in court asking the court to grant you an easement.

you then wouldn't have to worry about paying the back taxes on the current driveway.
There are no back taxes on the driveway.
 

jgnat1488

Junior Member
The county didn't know about the taxs untill we did some digging. They are not the most organized bunch. Now the proccess has been started and in this county they do not sel them for back taxs but rather have an auction when they have enough. That proccess will take over a year. I have not talked to the other land owners, this is a doubtfull route . The other properties are 30+ acres and would take a large amount of money that i don't have. The loging road is the best opption. Since it was a county road in the 30's shouldn't that make any differance?
 
Check to see if the old county road was taken into the state road system in the 30s .... if not, then your attorney can make the case that it's still a valid road. My attorney did that for a client in Fauquier Co.
 
As I see it, the issue here for you is really a technicality at the VDOT and at the County.

In most states, one of the requirements you would need to get a prescriptive right for an easement is that your property is landlocked and it is necessary, which it sounds like it is in your case. This is the best way to get a prescriptive right for an easement. Unfortuantely, to get it done so that it shows up on title, you will have to do it legally. Since there probably wont be any resistance to your claim (especially if the guy is dead) then you may be able to do it without a lawyer. But you will still have to go to court and you will have to do the work. I have no idea how easy or hard this is - maybe its easy in your part of Virginia if you guys are all still a bunch of backwoods hillbillies down there and you get a judge that sees this for what it is, just a damn technicality at the County and VDOT and you need the darned road!. (it wouldnt work in my neck of the woods - Cal.). Joking aside, this should be easy for a lawyer, but he/she is going to charge you.
 
First, check the area plat to see if there is any "paper" road that accesses your property that isn't being used. Second, you'll need a lawyer to get your easement "of record" if there is no recorded road or right of way. I think you have a case for a prescriptive easement or possibly an implied easement. The easement of necessity could be tricky depending on the circumstances since in most states the necessity must exist at the time of the severance of unity of the parcel that created your parcel and the landlocked condition at that time....from what you mentioned, there was legal road at the time so there was no necessity then existing at the time of severance. You need a lawyer to work out the most efficient way to get a recorded easement. Good luck.
 

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