Rights of Private Ingress / Egress

[santana850]

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

In 1997 there were 5 - 1 acre parcels that were given a dedicated easement. These 5 parcels run north / south. The easement is located on the east side of the properties. It is a private road that connects to a county road on each end. It is recorded as a 20' Private Ingress/Egress easement. It is part of our properties, we own it and pay taxes on it.
It was established so that we could access our properties and provide for maintaining utilities, postal service, and emergency services.
I am not the origainal owner of my acre, but was given all the paperwork for the easement, showing it can be passed on to each new person acquiring interest in the property.

After the 5 parcels were recorded and houses built, the land on the other side of the easement was parceled out and 4 houses were built a few years later. 3 of the houses would be land locked if it weren't for our private road.

My main question is, do they have the right to use our private easement?

Second question is, can they put up a fence right on their property line, up against our easement?

Thanks,
Maryann

[drewguy]

1) What does the easement say? If the easement's terms allow for use by those parcels then, yes, they may use it. If it does not, then they may not. If they are landlocked then it is possible they could establish an easement by necessity, but that requires a bunch of facts you haven't provided.

2) Those owners can put a fence on their property unless your easement is on their property in part. If so, they cannot put a fence in the easement to which you have rights.

[Kiawah]

Why couldn't/wouldn't those other 4 lots, have their own easement across their own property? Whoever subdivided that piece of property created the problem, they should have their own easement.

[santana850]

Thank you for responding.

The document calls out that anyone acquiring an interest in the property shall be entitled to an ingress and egress easement over the east 26' feet of the east half of the west half of the Northeast quarter of the Northwest quarter of Section 11, Township 2 North, Range 2 West of the Gila and Salt river Base and Meridian, Maricopa County, Az.

I guess before I go any further I need to have someone show me on the legal map where exactly that description is.
After trying to read the original survey doc that was recorded I cannot make out the legal description.
So I do not know if that description includes the parcels to the east of the easement.

It's just frustrating because I feel we gave up 26' feet of our property for the road, and they essentially had to give up none for the road but get to use it.

Thanks for the help.
M

[santana850]

Kiawah,

I agree. The 4 lots were hap hazardly parceled out over a few years. They were not parceled out and recorded all the same time. I have been told by original owners of the 5 lots on my side that the new owners to the east were asked to put their fences back the same number of feet ours was, but I suspect the 1st person that set a fence on the east side didn't care and set his fence on his property line, and the other 3 followed suit.

but like I said in my other reply I need to get an official reading on a map to know 100% whether their properties were included in the easement.
My guess is they were not.
Thanks,
M

[drewguy]

The map isn't necessarily going to tell you what their rights are regarding the easement. Their deeds will, as should yours. The easement doesn't necessarily have to be on their property in part for them to have rights to it.

I'll give you myself as an example. With several neighbors we share a driveway/alley that goes up between the backs of our lots (one half neighbors face one street and we face another, the next block over (parallel streets). The way the easement runs, however, it goes half/half for most lots, but then takes a bend at the top so that my lot is not burdened by the easement, yet I have the right to use it. Meanwhile, the neighbor behind me has all of the alley on his land (and he can use it too).

It could well be that the first five houses bear the brunt of the easement, if that's the way it was recorded. (BTW, if that is the case you should be able to get a reduction in your property value for tax purposes as compared to the houses that are not burdened)