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I’m renting a house on the water with a dock. The owner also has an apartment above a garage in front of the main house. These are two separate living quarters. We asked multiple times to make sure whoever rents the apartment in front does not have access to the dock and water. We have teenage girls and boys who use the backyard and wanted a safe and private place for them to hang out. The landlord assured us that he does not tell renters about the easement that goes through the backyard to have use of dock. Unfortunately we took his word and did not have it in writing. After two weeks of living in the main house he informed me that he rented the apartment and that the tenant has use of the dock to put his jet ski there and has access to the dock, then denied our verbal agreement when I asked about it. We are paying all this money for water front and the dock and now have to share with the tenant in front who pays less than half of what we pay. We’re very upset with situation, what can we do?
There’s an old saying amongst lawyers: a verbal contract is worth the paper it’s written on. You can try talking to the apartment tenant, and working out a schedule that works for both of you in sharing access to the dock.
