New Hampshire has a new law on the books, and it states that most private roads must have a maintenance agreement. We understand why having an agreement is important. However, an agreement can still create problems. Therefore, we recommend creating an association to ensure there is an extra layer of protection for every person involved.
When you create an association, … Read the rest
State and local government entities have the ability to use eminent domain authority to force the sale of private property for public projects. See RSA Chapter 498 A. This process aids in the orderly planning and construction of new public infrastructure such as highway widenings. It also gives the landowner the ability to challenge the amount of compensation that … Read the rest
New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know law, RSA Chapter 91-A, is a powerful tool in requiring transparency in governmental decision-making. The law requires the government to conduct public business in meetings that are open to the public. This encourages accountability and transparent decision-making.
The Right-to-Know … Read the rest
Alfano Law attorney, John Hayes, successfully challenged a provision of the tax-deeding statute that permitted municipalities to profit from the sale of tax-deeded properties. While the tax deeding statute required municipalities to distribute profit to former owners if they sold the property within three years, the law does not require municipalities to sell tax-deeded properties within that time-frame.
In the … Read the rest
Most people are familiar with eminent domain. Eminent domain occurs when the government takes private property for public use, with payment to the owner. Sometimes the government takes private property without compensating the owner. This form of taking is “inverse condemnation”. Inverse condemnation can be difficult to spot because the private citizen retains fee ownership of his or her property, … Read the rest
The legal term is this context is “inverse condemnation.” Inverse condemnation occurs when a governmental body takes property in fact, but opts not to exercise the power of eminent domain, thus depriving the property owner of compensation.
The term also can include a governmental action that substantially interferes with, or deprives a person of, the use of his or her … Read the rest
In previous blogs, we addressed the difference between a private road and an easement, New Hampshire’s new law mandating residential private road maintenance in certain situations and what private road maintenance agreements should include. Having an agreement is an important step. However, creating an association can greatly simplify the administration and enforcement of private road maintenance agreements.
Consider … Read the rest
When presented with certain types of disputes, a court can partition real estate physically or equitably. For example, a physical partition of a ten-acre lot could give five acres to each party. A court deploys an equitable partition when physical partition is impractical or unfair. An equitable partition essentially is a court-ordered and supervised sale. How the real estate is … Read the rest
Last month, Paul Alfano attended the William and Mary Law School’s 16th annual Property Rights Conference in Williamsburg, VA.
Some of the top property professors in the country participated in panel discussions, including Stephen J. Early, winner of this year’s Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize, and prior winners of the prize, Professor James W. Ely, Jr., Professor Stewart … Read the rest
New Hampshire’s oldest form of town government is the town meeting. It has been relatively consistent and unchanged through the generations as to when this annual event is held. RSA 39:1 requires town meeting to be held annually on the second Tuesday of March, or in accordance with RSA 40:13 (providing an optional form of town meeting as official ballot … Read the rest
