Do I have a responsibility to keep my hillside property, on which my neighbor has a Landscape easement, from collapsing?

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Do I have a responsibility to keep my hillside property, on which my neighbor has a Landscape easement, from collapsing?

We have a sloping hillside lot. Our neighbor above has a 50’ wide landscape easement across the top, also sloping. During construction of our home we excavated, but before we could install shoring of the bank an unexpected rainfall caused 20’ of the easement land to collapse. Now the neighbor demands we build a retaining wall and restore the landscape easement to its previous level. Do we have any responsibility to maintain the level of the easement? After all, we still have the right to use of the property. They only have the right to landscape it, and all that was lost was grass.

Asked on June 21, 2009 under Real Estate Law, Hawaii

Answers:

MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 15 years ago | Contributor

It depends on what exact rights (based on statutes and case law) a landscape easement gives the neighbor. 

Contact your state's planning and zoning departments.  Further, try www.attorneypages.com and consult with a construction law/zoning/planning lawyer in Hawaii.  Check his or her record at the Hawaii State bar.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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