Understanding Easement Language

[Fishie LaBleu]

My question involves an easement in the state of: MD

My family recently purchased a single-family home in the downtown area of a city. The property abutting ours to the north is a multi-family dwelling, with seven units of various sizes. Both lots (ours and neighbor's) are small, close together, and currently unfenced. Four of the units and the laundry facilities are accessed solely through doors and/or a staircase that exit out close to our back entrance.

Generally, we've had good experiences with our neighbors. However, we've also had some issues with a few tenants using our backyard for their dogs' bathroom needs, parking and driving mopeds across our lawn, tossing cigarette butts into our yard, and having some, ahem, altercations in the adjoining space between our houses (there's been one arrest and several police calls since we've moved in), so we looked into getting a fence. When we had the land surveyed, we found out that there was an easement, which was news to us, as the easement never appeared on our deed.

The surveyor didn't seem to have an exact idea of the dimensions of the easement (to be fair, we hadn't paid for that to be staked, as we didn't know it existed!), but he was under the impression from the plat that the easement didn't run the full length of the property.

The land survey reads: Property X (the neighbor's property) "is benefitted by a 3' easement for staircase fence and sidewalk per" L X and F X.

Obviously, the easement specifications would affect the placement of our fence. How should we interpret the above language and would more specific information about the easement be available at the County Clerk's Recordation Office? Both properties are pre-1900 structures and continue in their original use.

I apologize if these questions are too simple for this forum. We're just beginning to gather information and resources as our few conversations with the landlord indicate that we're going to need to be very specific and very formal about any plans that may affect the property line. Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[flyingron]

We can't place your easement based on a redacted subset of the deed. Call up a surveyor with a clue and get him to stake out the easement boundaries.
You are not allowed to encumber the dominant tenant's (the other lot owner) use of the easement. I.e., you can't put your fence up in a way that precludes him from using it relatively free and clear.

[Newtons_Apple]

An easement burdening your property does not have to appear on your deed. As long as it's on record, it is valid.

If you want to read the easement for yourself, ask for a copy of the deed from the surveyor. If he's showing it on the plan, he ought to have a copy of the deed in his file, or at the very least a book and page reference where it can be recovered at the registry of deeds (or whatever MD calls the place where the county stores deeds.)

The survey will reflect, to the best of the surveyor's ability, the position of the easement based upon an analysis of the record and evidence on the ground. Just because you didn't pay to have the easement staked does not mean the surveyor won't find, and/or show it. This is a classic example of why surveyors do estimates and not quotes; we never fully know going in what we will find until the work is done.

Your surveyor stated that he was not sure about the dimensions of the easement. What does he mean by that? It appears he has listed the width of the easement as 3 feet. Is it the length he is uncertain of? Are the sidewalk and steps wider than 3 feet or are they over your line by more than 3 feet?

I would go back and talk to the surveyor; request that he stake the easement on the ground so you have a guide for fence building. But I would still exercise care even after the line is staked. If the easement line is "cutting through" a portion of the steps or walk, you should just wrap the fence around the steps and sidewalk so as not to block access.

Good luck.

[Fishie LaBleu]

[QUOTE=flyingron;615150] you can't put your fence up in a way that precludes him from using it relatively free and clear.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the information. It's the "relatively free and clear" part that we're concerned about. A set of stairs (providing access to two units and the laundry facilities for all tenants) is blocking the walkway on a portion of his property; the easement appears to have been created to allow for folks to walk around the stairs. At 3' wide, the easement doesn't provide a whole lot of room to maneuver, if we were to position a fence directly at the property line; however, offsetting the fence into our property further would restrict our ability to pass from the front of the house to the back.

But that's not really a question for the forum. lol I'm just venting.