Easement removal from shared private driveway

[motivated]

You are wasting your time going straight to court. Shalodge is on the right track-- unless you get council approval in principle to do what you want to do you are wasting your time. Step 1 = professional advice (surveyor or planner) then step 2= council approval in principle then step 3 = neighbour sign off. if that is not agreed to, you would need to have a VERY STRONG case before you have a good chance in court

Hi Shalodge,
Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately councils do not always give correct advice, and this is more than likely a private matter out of their jurisdiction. I believe the Property Law Act to be the guiding authority on this matter, but I will see a planner at the council shortly. As with all research there is an initial gathering of information stage which is what I am doing on this forum. There is a chance someone may have been down this easement road before which is why I am presenting this to this audience.

I have already read the carriage way widths and design standards for urban private ways as part of my research. As for the subdivision consent on lots 1 & 2 for his property, they only refer to right of way "A", which is his 3 meter width. Of course "A" will soon provide access to both his lots, with both having a dominant easement over my "B" 3 meter wide driveway. As Jhab noted earlier, as access will not be restricted because without the easements over A & B's 48 meter long drive, both of his lots 1 & 2 will still have unimpeded access down "A" which is his 3.06 meters.

Still really keen to hear if anyone has approximate costs of taking this to the District Court if I represent myself, and how many 1/2 days at $900 this could possibly take? Thank you every one for your advice so far.

[PTcruza]

Hi Nan,

Not sure if you are monitoring this thread, but I'm curious about how you got on. Did you take it to court?

Did you resolve it in some way to your satisfaction?

[Ivan McIntosh]

I'd be astonished if this got anywhere....there didn't seem to be any chance of it succeeding whatsoever. This kind of thing only potentially works when, for example, a property that used to exit over your land has been subdivided with a road built through it that all the properties now use, and the garage of the as-small-as-it-can-get lot that has the ROW faces the other way towards the road, and the ROW is now overgrown and has a fence across it.