Legal Advice at Boathouse in Eigen Sloot

Questioner

Good afternoon, My neighbour has a boathouse in the ditch. This ditch is between my neighbour's plot and my plot. I contacted the land registry and the entire ditch between me and my neighbour appears to be mine. So his boathouse is in MY ditch. Furthermore, the municipality says that his legal predecessors never applied for a permit. I never knew that the ditch was mine. The legal predecessors of the neighbour had agreed with my legal predecessors that the boathouse could be there, but at the time they thought that the ditch was half theirs, so that the boathouse was in their own ditch. When I spoke to the neighbour about it, he replaced the corrugated iron of the boathouse roof with sheet piling without consultation. It is a boathouse consisting of 4 poles and a roof. There is a super small boat underneath that he only uses when there is a ball in the water! I think it is a very ugly boathouse and now I have less space in the ditch, because it is already such a narrow ditch. I therefore want the neighbour to remove his boathouse. What does the law say about this? Does the neighbor have to remove his boathouse from my ditch? I am considering legal action, but first want to know what my chances of success are. Many thanks in advance!

Lawyer

How long has the boathouse been there? 20 years? Then the situation has expired: an easement or a building right may have arisen. Less than 20 years? Then you must revive your property (reclaiming and demolishing the boathouse)

Lawyer

In order to advise you properly, I need some additional information. According to the Land Registry, the boathouse is located in the ditch that is your property. The question is first of all how long the boathouse has been there. If this is 20 years or longer, then under certain circumstances it may be that your neighbour has become the owner of this part of the ditch and therefore the boathouse by liberative prescription. If the 20-year term has not yet expired, then you can interrupt the prescription by claiming the ditch as property. Such an interruption act must always be followed by legal proceedings in which the ownership is reclaimed, otherwise the interruption has no legal force and the prescription continues. I am a lawyer and specialise in disputes about the prescription of real estate. If you have any questions or require legal assistance, please feel free to contact me without obligation and free of charge.

Questioner

the boathouse has been there since 2002 or 2003/2004. not before 2002 anyway. and how do i revindicate if my neighbour doesn't?

Lawyer

Claim your full ownership back in writing and by registered mail, the land that has been occupied and the demolition of the boathouse within a reasonable period of time (two to 4 weeks)

Lawyer

Then the limitation period is still running. You must then interrupt the limitation period by a written notice to the other party that the boat shed is located in your ditch and that the neighbour is therefore only a user of the ditch and therefore has at most a right of use. Since the content of such an interruption letter must meet legal requirements, I advise you to have it drawn up by a lawyer/jurist. Since a lawyer will be needed in any case in the procedure that may follow, I recommend a lawyer. As I said, I am happy to assist you with this. You can contact me directly via the button with this message.

Lawyer

Depending on the agreements made between the previous owners at the time, you can terminate the right of use and request that the boathouse be demolished.

Questioner

Why would there possibly be a right of use? The neighbor himself has a much larger ditch where the boathouse can be placed.

Lawyer

The right of use may arise from the permission of your legal predecessor to use the ditch for the construction of a boathouse. I have no idea why the previous owner of the ditch allowed the previous neighbor to use his ditch for this. You will have to ask your legal predecessor about this.

Questioner

Thank you, I understand. My legal predecessor thought that part of the ditch belonged to that neighbor. The boathouse belonged to my legal predecessor, and when he left here in 2002 or a few years later, he gave the boathouse to the legal predecessor of my neighbor. He then placed it in the part of the ditch that he thought was his. So nothing was recorded in writing.