Q: What precautions do I need to take if I were to allow my neighbor shared use of my land?
Our neighbors house is seperated from ours by a 5 meter gap. There is a fence that sits approximately 1 meter away from their house and 4 meters from ours. Our neighbour has suggested that they take the fence down and install vegetable boxes for shared use. While I'm not against this in principal (we were thinking of installing veggie boxes ourselves) and theoretically happy to share the use of this land, I'd like to know whether i'm putting myself in a precarious position down the line. If we were to sell, or rent, would it cause issues? Will the land always be considered ours? Would they have any legal claim to the land down the line? And what precautions should I take - a written contract? Or is this a terrible idea in general?
A: You should document the agreement in writing to confirm that their use of your property is permissive. That way, they or those they may sell to, can't later claim adverse possession of the area. This can be done with a signed letter agreement.
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