Shared driveways are common between older houses in Newark and the towns around it. This page is general information, not legal advice. Your deed and any recorded easement decide your rights, and a New Jersey attorney can read them for you.
Who pays for a shared driveway?
Who pays for a shared driveway is set by the deed, the easement or a written agreement, if one exists. Many shared driveways were built long before anyone wrote the costs down. Where the papers are silent, neighbors usually split the cost in proportion to use, by agreement. Check the documents first.
My neighbor will not pay. Can I replace only my half?
You can usually replace my side, as people put it, where the line runs down the middle and you stay on your own land. We saw-cut along the line and pour your half with a joint between the two. Be careful about height and drainage. Your new half must not block the neighbor's use or send water onto their side. If both of you have a right to drive over the whole width, talk to an attorney before changing it.
Can a contractor's trucks use a shared driveway?
Ask the neighbor first. A right to pass over a shared driveway does not clearly include parking concrete trucks and loaders on it, and an old slab can crack under that weight. We prefer to pump from the street or use buggies. If the shared drive is the only way in, get the neighbor's agreement in writing and take photos of its condition beforehand.
Where exactly is the line?
Only a survey shows where the line is. In close-built neighborhoods the middle of the driveway is often not the boundary. Sometimes the whole drive is on one lot and the other owner has a right to use it. That changes who can replace what.
Do we need a written agreement?
A written agreement is worth having. A short document signed by both owners can state who pays for what, how repairs are decided and who clears snow. If it is recorded with the county, it carries over to future owners. An attorney can prepare one.
The neighbor's half is breaking up and damaging mine. What now?
Put it in a polite letter with photos, and offer to share a quote for doing both halves together, which costs each owner less than two separate jobs. If the broken half is a hazard on the path you both use, your insurer may want to know. Legal remedies depend on the easement terms.
We can price your half, their half and both together so the two of you have real numbers. Call (917) 909-5931.