Buyer worried about gas line easement
Q: There’s a house that I want to buy, but I have some questions about a gas line easement in the backyard. First of all, what is an easement? Should it affect my purchase decision? Is there any likelihood of gas leaks? And does it prevent me from building an addition onto the house?
A: An easement is a legal right to have limited use of someone’s land. A common example would be a driveway to provide access to a property that would otherwise be inaccessible. In your case, an easement has been granted to a utility company, allowing them to bury a gas line and to conduct maintenance and repairs if such should ever be needed. Utility easements are very common and seldom raise problems or concerns for property owners. In fact, most people with utility easements on their properties are seldom reminded that the easement even exists.
The likelihood that a buried gas line might develop a leak is remote, unless someone were to carelessly excavate the grounds and damage the gas line.
Whether the easement could limit your ability to enlarge the residence depends on the required setbacks for buildings on the property. When you apply for a building permit, the easement will be considered in your application, and the utility company will be notified to ascertain compliance with pertinent requirements.
Be sure to find out exactly where the easement is located and what limits it might place on your use of the property. Some of these details will be included in the preliminary title report that you should receive from the title insurance company before you purchase the property. For further details, you should contact the gas company and the local building department.
Q: For the past 17 years, I have rented an apartment on the second floor of a three-story building. Several months ago, the building department notified the owner that the ground floor, including the apartment directly below mine, is an illegally converted garage. Realizing that I have been living in an illegal building, I have two questions: Should I continue paying rent for my apartment, and am I entitled to recover the rents I have paid the landlord these many years?
A: There are two ways to view your questions: the legal perspective and the ethical one. Only an attorney can advise you regarding the legal viewpoint, but you should consider the ethical aspect before seeking legal advice.
Do you truly believe that you have been harmed by the lack of a building permit for the downstairs apartment? Consider that for 17 years you have enjoyed the use of your second floor residence in exchange for the rent you agreed to pay. Until now, you apparently considered that to be an equitable arrangement, or you wouldn’t have stayed there for so long. Why then would the legal status of the downstairs unit diminish the fairness or value of that exchange? In short, you have not been harmed in any way by the lack of a downstairs permit. Why then should you punish your landlord?
• Distributed by Action Coast Publishing. Questions to Barry Stone can be emailed to barry@housedetective.com.