ask george & chuck
Sept. 8, 2008

Unwritten easements, trailer homes
Answers to real estate questions as appearing
in the Houston Chronicle

Dear George: I inherited land from my father 14 years ago. In 1963, he purchased the property and put in a road and a fence along the property line after getting a survey. Today, my relatives across the fence tell me that they've known for 45 years that my dad put that road and fence on part of their property and that they are getting a survey done to prove it. They say that once the survey is done they'll fence the property according to the survey and cut off part of my road. I have tenants that use the road to access a house they rent from me. Do they have a legal right to cut off my road if their survey shows the fence and road are not in the correct place?

Answer: Since the road was put in and used without permission for more than 10 years, you may have an easement by prescription, so long as it was used exclusively and hostilely (but peaceably) by the easement claimant. If you can show that the neighbor promised you the use at some previous time, and used it also, you may have an easement by estoppel. You're allowed a reasonable use. The judge will have to make this decision, as all easements that are not in writing are very fact-specific. If you can still use the remainder of the road, the judge may be less inclined to force a larger easement as an encumbrance on your neighbor.

Dear George: I bought a trailer house and moved it onto a friend's lot. What kind of contract should we do to outline that I own it and he can't seize it?

Answer: You need a written lease contract that clearly sets forth, at a bare minimum, the term of the lease, the description of the house trailer, and the fact that as long as you pay the rent stated in the contract, your trailer is not subject to seizure by the landlord. Hire an attorney to draw up the lease.