Garage Easement

[Alan Berlin]

Hello all,

I have a duplex that is built right on the property line. There is a single car garage built into the side of the duplex facing the neighbor’s driveway. Title search found that the neighbor has the following easement rights: "to use and enjoy the one car garage so long as said garage exists on the land of the Grantors.” I have no idea why the original builder agreed to this easement but I imagine it was a tradeoff to allow building right up to the property line.

Here are my questions: Do my tenants also have the right to the garage for storage etc or is it exclusive to the neighbor? Since it states “so long as said garage exists” can I make an additional bedroom/storage room out of it and simply remove the garage door and brick it over?

Thanks for feedback!

Alan

[Joe Splitrock]

You should talk to a lawyer, but I will share my thoughts on the subject.

It seems you need to establish if the use is exclusive and if converting it would release you of the easement. You solution to convert sounds good if it works.

Have you had any discussion with the neighbor about this and what their understanding is? Is it necessary to drive on his property to access the garage?