neighbors septic tank on my property....can i fill it in?

[mikle3005]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new york

my neighbors septic tank is partialy on my property, also there leach feild is entirely on my property. i have found no easment in any of my paper work, also they cant provide me with any paper work saying it can be there either. it has ben there for who knows how long 10+ years atleast! but up untill 3 days ago no one knew it was there. my quetion is can i simply fill it in??

 

[TheGeekess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new york

my neighbors septic tank is partialy on my property, also there leach feild is entirely on my property. i have found no easment in any of my paper work, also they cant provide me with any paper work saying it can be there either. it has ben there for who knows how long 10+ years atleast! but up untill 3 days ago no one knew it was there. my quetion is can i simply fill it in??

You prefer the scent of sewage in your yard? Really?

 

[xylene]

Unilaterally fill it - Absolutely not.

It is quite possible that the the public health and sanitation interest creates an easement.

You need to hire a lawyer immediately.


And stop with this "fill it in" jackassery. It will not help you in working this out.

 

[mikle3005]

im confused.....if it has no legal right to be there, and its on my property! why cant i fill it in like anyother hole in my back yard?.....once the tank is full of sand the line from the house will simply back up and prevent any additional sewage from entering it (problem solved), and if some of the sewage currently in the tank where to come out the top onto the ground while you where filling it in, i dont see how that would be any different than the local farmers spreding manur on there farm feilds year round or be any diffrent from one of the local camps in the area that have "out houses" simply a small building with a toilet that lets the sewage fall into a hole under the building!**************also iv spoken with my local code enfocment officer and he has no objection to me filling it in......

 

[xylene]

im confused.....if it has no legal right to be there, and its on my property! why cant i fill it in like anyother hole in my back yard?.....once the tank is full of sand the line from the house will simply back up and prevent any additional sewage from entering it (problem solved), and if some of the sewage currently in the tank where to come out the top onto the ground while you where filling it in, i dont see how that would be any different than the local farmers spreding manur on there farm feilds year round or be any diffrent from one of the local camps in the area that have "out houses" simply a small building with a toilet that lets the sewage fall into a hole under the building!**************also iv spoken with my local code enfocment officer and he has no objection to me filling it in......

You sound like a grade "A" moron.

Your first statement - "if it has no legal right to be there" you could be DEAD WRONG about that. Not sure why you are so convinced otherwise.

A code enforcement officer is not your lawyer or advocate

Now, do you want to be a townie idiot and possibly get fined and have to pay your neighbor for damages or do want to work something out where you possibly get paid for a legal easement and the understanding any new leech field will not encroach...

 

[tranquility]

Have you talked with your neighbor about this? What did he say? Sheesh, why does everyone want to fight right away?

The first thing I"d do (After talking with neighbor.) is see an attorney. He may advise you to send a letter granting permission for the trespass--revocable at any time. This is in case the issue has been there a very long time and would stop the clock on a potential claim of adverse possession. Then, he would probably have you file suit for trespassing. However, this may be a bad thing in that the court may find an easement has developed over the time the issue has been there. (If not outright ownership by adverse possession.) The court will have the neighbor pay for this easement. The good thing is, that by doing it that way rather than just filling it in, you don't have a health problem caused on your property and damages for your neighbor to remedy your violation of the easement if one is found to be there by the court.

Talk with the neighbor, see an attorney.

 

[mikle3005]

i have spoken with the neighbors about it....here's the long version....the property just got surveyed and it turns out the back corner of my 14x24 shed is over the line by 3 feet....during the survey we found out that there septic tank and leach feild is on my property....i aproched them and suggested that they over look the back corner of my shed and i will over look there septic and everyone would beinifit.....unfortunily they dont want to come to any kind of agreement....they are demanding that my building be moved regardless of there septic issuse.....i have tryed several times to politly takl to them about getting some kind of agreement between us and they simply DO NOT CARE....they are not good neighbors they refuse to keep there dogs on a leash they are constantly drunk there yard is covered in garbage! they simply do not care about anything they will happly sit there and drink beer and watch me tear down my building regardless of any repercution it may have on there own septic issuse! i have spoken with 2 diffrent real estate attorneys from my area and they both agree the septic system has no legal right to be on my property. i dont want to be a jerk and fill in there septic but if they are not willing to work with me in the smallest bit then i really feel they are forcing my hand!!!! if you only knew the people you would understand what im up against! they simply do not care about anything

 

[mikle3005]

also i am on a bit of a timeline the code enforcment officer has given me 30 days to move my building...unless the two of us can come to an agreement between us......that was 14 days ago

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Wow, I hate to be in a position to say up theirs, but, this sounds like one of those days.:eek

 

[justalayman]

just filling in the tank and field is likely to get you sued for all the damages the backup causes. While it may or may not have a legal right to be on your property, you intentionally causing them the damages will cause you much grief.

The first thing you need to figure out is how did it end up on your property. If both properties were once conjoined, whoever split it may have known of the situation and knowingly allowed it.

There may have been permission given by your lots original owner to allow the encroachment.

You have not described here that you are aware of how the encroachment happened. That lack of info could result in spending a lot of money to undo the damages you cause by filling in the tank.

So, the first thing to do is figure out how it got onto your property.

 

[tranquility]

i have spoken with 2 diffrent real estate attorneys from my area and they both agree the septic system has no legal right to be on my property.

While I doubt that is what they said, the real question would be; what did they tell you to do?

 

[xylene]

This is not the court of Solomon here.

they are demanding that my building be moved regardless of there septic issuse

They are 1000% correct.

You need to remove your encroachment.

You need to deal with the courts to legal deal with THEIR encroachment

 

[justalayman]

While I doubt that is what they said, the real question would be; what did they tell you to do?

I don't doubt the lawyers said something such as that but it was probably prefaced or followed with something such as:

upon a cursory review of the information you have provided me and absolutely no independent research on the situation by myself...

Now, if you want to lay down some cash, I would be more than glad to research the situation. I'll dig as deep as your money shovel allows.

 

[154NH773]

Never believe a lawyer when he tells you you have a good case, or the law is on your side. I have never met a lawyer (including some excellent ones) that didn't initally say the case was GREAT, and then after much money and time, express doubts and urge me to settle.

I agree with the others that said your building and their septic are two distinct issues. Move your building, or not, and/or deal with all the issues in court if you like. A court can come to ANY decision, even one that may seem wrong. You will spend a lot of money and there is no sure outcome.

You are better off trying to negotiate a settlement somehow. Through a lawyer would be the best bet, since any agreement would have to be in writing and you could use some help with that.

I also agree that filling in the septic is a stupid idea, and will probably cost you in the long run.

 

[FarmerJ]

things to research, first you want to know what your counties rules are for repair / replacement of failed systems (why) if these people have been very careless by all means when this septic fails you want the county out there to condemn it since its totally fair then to force the county to follow new system rules since any replacement system needs to be designed so it stays with in that nbrs lot lines. You also want to learn if by chance there is any plans of public sewer/ water coming thru your road and what the rules will be for hookup ( again centered around a failed septic or in some places that may inc just well failure alone) Search out as the others said about if the property was one larger parcel , last LOL read the nbrs permit records , if by chance there never even was a permit filed for the nbrs house it would be interesting to see what options a atty offers if that was the case . AS far as your shed goes if you can would a bull dozer be able to move it ? sounds like you may not have any choice since it is separate issue but DO learn all you can about your city/ county ords re replacement / repair of septics what conditions are the triggers for condemnation , what the rules are for siting , set backs etc.