Q: Is it legal for a resort to lock us out from using our parking lot
We've had access to are parking lot for over 50 years then a resort came in and put up a gate that we use to enter our parking lot and they put a padlock on it to keep us locked out from accessing it,is that legal
It is the only way into our parking lot is through access off a main road( A1A)
through the resort .We had permission for the last 50 years from the previous owners of the resort to park in the lot that adjacent to our condo ,now a new owner of the resort decided that they do not want us using their property to access our parking lot and that is the only way into our parking lot so they put up a gate and put a padlock on the gate to keep us from using it.
A: Best to schedule a consultation with a attorney handling real estate disputes, as there are a few issues to be examined, such as: Was the former owner's permission formalized into a recorded easement? (An easement is a permitted through-way of someone else's land.) If no recorded easement, are there facts that would cause a court to rule there is an easement by way of necessity or prescriptive easement? Under any of those scenarios, a demand letter would be in order, then a lawsuit if necessary. If there happens to be no relief under the law, then the condo assoc. should attempt to make a deal. Your association attorney is the first person to talk to, and if he/she cannot analyze the issue, he/she may want to hook the association up with a lawyer who can. Also, if this issue is causing parking problems on the surrounding streets, your local officials (county/city/town elected commission members) may want to help to solve the issue.
Terrence H Thorgaard agrees with this answer
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