You can demand your right to lateral support and initiate tortious action against them
Right to lateral support of my land from neighbor's land
So i have constructed a new house in my land recently and built the compound wall surrounding the house which lies in my boundary of the site, so after few months my neighbor started excavating his land upto 6ft depth in planning to construct the basement for his building and had left 1-1.5 ft unexcavated to my boundary. but he didnt start the construction and the excavation was left as it is for more than 15 months. the 1-1.5ft gap which he had left eroded due to rains, so i started to objecting him saying either u start construction or fill the land with soil to its original position. but he is opposing to this saying he has the right to excavate in his land, but i want to know from you that "dont i have the right to LATERAL support of my land from my neighboring land. so now thr is a chance of my compound to fall due to no lateral support which may risk lives and money. so can anyone help me how should i proceed with this to get me justice for his mishap?
Asked 3 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
First answer received in 10 minutes.
Lawyers are available now to answer your questions.
11 Answers
File suit seek court orders to direct neighbor to carry on construction within stipulated period or fill the excavation dine as it is damaging your property
- You can lodge a compliant to the police for the said excavation which may damage your boundary .
- If, no response, then file an Injunction suit before the court for directing him to finish the said work immediately.
You cannot stop the neighbor from excavating his own land.
As a matter of fact he had already left 1 to 1.5 feet land away from your compound wall in his excavation process.
If you feel that your compound wall may fall down or likely to get damaged, you may have to take care of your proeprty and take steps to protect the same by strengthening the compound wall in consultation with your engineer.
You may not have a legal remedy from your neighbor in this regard as he has neither intruded in your property nor encroached your property and also he did not touch your compound wall at all neither his excavation had even approached your compound wall.
Find out if your neighbour has obtained the planning approval for construction of a basement. If he has, you have no cause for objection. If not, complain to the local municipality first for his violating the building plan.
Dear client,
yes you have lateral support of land and if the construction is obstructing you in using your path then you can serve him with legal notice and if he does not comply with it you can file civil suit against it.
Thank You.
I don’t understand how some lawyers said I can’t do anything here an easement law section 7 , serial no ‘e’ says The right of every owner of land that such land, in its natural condition, shall have the support naturally rendered by the subjacent and adjacent soil of another person. Explanation. -Land is in its natural condition when it is not excavated and not subjected to artificial pressure; and the "subjacent and adjacent soil" mentioned in this illustration means such soil only as in its natural condition would support the dominant heritage in its natural condition. Please can u give inputs regarding this
Asked 3 years ago
You can as advised earlier take legal proceedings against your neighbour to fill in excavated portion on his land or carry on construction
Yes you can do the same under easement law.
Please check if your neighbour has obtained approval for construction of the basement. If not, it will only strengthen your case, under easement right.
By dominant heritage in the legal terms means:
The land for the beneficial enjoyment of which the right exists is called the dominant heritage, and the owner or occupier thereof the dominant owner;
Your neighbor is the owner of his property which is a dominant heritage.
If a neighbor's excavation or excessive extraction of underground liquid deposits (crude oil or aquifers) causes subsidence, such as by causing the landowner's land to cave in, the neighbor will be subject to strict liability in a tort action.
The neighbor will also be strictly liable for damage to buildings on the landowner's property if the landowner can show that the weight of the buildings did not contribute to the collapse of the land.
If the landowner is unable to make such a showing, the neighbor must be shown to have been negligent in order for the landowner to recover damages.
If the landowner owns everything beneath the ground on his property, he may convey to another party the rights to mineral deposits under the land and other things requiring excavation, such as easements for buried conduits or for water wells.
However, such a conveyance requires the recipient to prevent any damage to the surface of the land caused by the excavation unless the conveyance itself grants express authority for the surface land to be damaged, "as reasonably necessary" for the recipient to exercise his extraction rights.
Thus you can decide whether to pursue the matter legally against the neighbor on the basis of the anticipated damage that is likely to be caused due to his excavation activities and obtain a report from a civil engineer to this effect before issuing a legal jotice to the neighbor and for all further legal actions.
Dear client,
we are emphasising again, you do have the lateral support of the land.
Thank you