Neighbors A/C Unit on My Property

[just-some-guy]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Illinois, will co, lockport.

my neighbor, who has been trying to steal 5' of my property since i moved in, it was that way when i moved in. i have a survey, say .7' from his house(foundation). his a/c unit is on my land here. i want it removed for various reasons. please advice. i know i can get a lawyer, but i don't have money for that.

thanx

[adjusterjack]

i know i can get a lawyer, but i don't have money for that.

Then you will have to learn how to go to court by yourself and seek an injunction ordering him to remove it.

[llworking]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Illinois, will co, lockport.

my neighbor, who has been trying to steal 5' of my property since i moved in, it was that way when i moved in. i have a survey, say .7' from his house(foundation). his a/c unit is on my land here. i want it removed for various reasons. please advice. i know i can get a lawyer, but i don't have money for that.

thanx

If I am understanding you correctly, you believe that by survey that your property line is .7' or about 8 or so inches from your neighbor's foundation. Apparently your neighbor is trying to claim adverse possession for 5 feet, based on the fact that his AC unit has been placed there for some period of time. You, on the other hand are insisting that his AC unit be moved even though apparently there is no place to move the AC unit based on your survey.

I would strongly recommend that you get a consult with a local real estate attorney in your area. There are nuances that you need to understand regarding the law that a local attorney is better situated to provide.

[just-some-guy]

thanx for the replies.

my understanding is that his a/c is trespassing , which is against the law. he has plenty, and easy, places to move it to, just 10' away to the back of his house, he just doesn't want to.

i got the 5' back, fence installed 4 years now, sorry, i worded that wrong. he just doesn't want to move the a/c. yes, the property line is almost his house, odd, but yes. my other side neighbor is the same way.

[llworking]

thanx for the replies.

my understanding is that his a/c is trespassing , which is against the law. he has plenty, and easy, places to move it to, just 10' away to the back of his house, he just doesn't want to.

i got the 5' back, fence installed 4 years now, sorry, i worded that wrong. he just doesn't want to move the a/c. yes, the property line is almost his house, odd, but yes. my other side neighbor is the same way.

His AC is not necessarily trespassing. Not if somewhere along the line there was permission for the AC to be placed there. It can be very expensive to change the location of the outside AC unit as well. Its not as simple as simply moving it. Lots of rewiring and other stuff has to take place. Once again, get a consult with a local real estate attorney. You may find that asserting your rights doesn't require you to be a bad neighbor.

[just-some-guy]

His AC is not necessarily trespassing. Not if somewhere along the line there was permission for the AC to be placed there. It can be very expensive to change the location of the outside AC unit as well. Its not as simple as simply moving it. Lots of rewiring and other stuff has to take place. Once again, get a consult with a local real estate attorney. You may find that asserting your rights doesn't require you to be a bad neighbor.

what the people that used to live here allowed should not matter, they could have let him use the house. does that mean i have to let him ?

yes, it "could " be expensive. but really, it could be done for a few 100, i know, i did it myself.

btw, "I" am NOT bad for wanting to use what i paid for. "he" IS bad for depriving me of that right.

[budwad]

A few things should be cleared up from previous posts.

First, it's not what your predecessors did such as giving your neighbor permission to place the AC where it is because a permissive use does not ripen into any easement or adverse possession. A permissive use is only a license to use your property and is not a property right. A license can be revoked at any time even if one of your predecessors did give permission. That is a matter of law.

Second, the statute of limitations in Illinois for adverse possession or for a prescriptive use easement is 20 years. You can look up what the requirement are but if your neighbor is only trespassing on your property with the footprint of the AC then he (if he met the requirements) would only be entitled to either a prescriptive use easement or adverse possession of the footprint. He couldn't get to use a 5 foot strip of land just because there is an AC on your land. That type of trespass doesn't move the property boundary.

Do you know how long the AC has been there including your neighbors time and his predecessors? Does any survey (not just a current one) show the AC as encroaching on your property?

btw, "I" am NOT bad for wanting to use what i paid for. "he" IS bad for depriving me of that right.

No, you are not bad for wanting to protect your property rights. If you don't protect them you can lose them.

What have you done so far to get him to move the AC (talk, send demand letter)?

[just-some-guy]

A few things should be cleared up from previous posts.

First, it's not what your predecessors did such as giving your neighbor permission to place the AC where it is because a permissive use does not ripen into any easement or adverse possession. A permissive use is only a license to use your property and is not a property right. A license can be revoked at any time even if one of your predecessors did give permission. That is a matter of law.

Second, the statute of limitations in Illinois for adverse possession or for a prescriptive use easement is 20 years. You can look up what the requirement are but if your neighbor is only trespassing on your property with the footprint of the AC then he (if he met the requirements) would only be entitled to either a prescriptive use easement or adverse possession of the footprint. He couldn't get to use a 5 foot strip of land just because there is an AC on your land. That type of trespass doesn't move the property boundary.

Do you know how long the AC has been there including your neighbors time and his predecessors? Does any survey (not just a current one) show the AC as encroaching on your property?



No, you are not bad for wanting to protect your property rights. If you don't protect them you can lose them.

What have you done so far to get him to move the AC (talk, send demand letter)?

thank you , bud :-)

i have no idea how long it has been there. my survey was procured by the PO's for when my garage was built in 09, i bought the house early 2012. it was built 5' off the property line as per code. the 5' of property is no longer an issue, i "took" that back(fence), though, he still thinks its his. there was nothing on it besides the a/c unit next to his house, my fence comes down "to" his house. so basicly, all i did was get a permit and built the fence. now i want to complete my total possession of what is legally mine. the survey does not show the a/c unit.

i asked him, and then told him, and then demanded him, all many times, to remove it. and i have contacted the city, they have yet to reply, for whatever reason.

[budwad]

thank you , bud :-)

and i have contacted the city, they have yet to reply, for whatever reason.

It's likely that the neighbor would have had to get a permit to install the AC compressor (mechanical, electric, maybe building). You can go to the building department and ask to see the records. They are public records. See if a survey was included as part of the application and where the AC was located. You never know what you may find. It may have been approved for his back yard and installed it in the side yard.

[just-some-guy]

a permit for the a/c, i highly doubt that.