[Manial]

We live in Maryland on a shared roadway/driveway--our house is at the very front of the property. There are 6 other residents on the road. We are having a disagreement regarding how the cost of repairing the road should be shared. Because we only have acess to 50% of the road, we think that we should only pay 1/7 of 50% of the cost of repair. Of course, our neighbors, particularly those in the back, disagree. We do not have any attached maintenance agreement to our deed and are not a part of a subdivision, although the developer had originally designated as such, he never recorded it in the county records. So, my question: is there some sort of implied law regarding how maintenance costs for shared private drives are to be divided or is it purely negotiable?

Thanks

[ScottGem]

I'm not sure of the law here, but if this is a private road, then each homeowner that uses that road, in any part, should pay an equal share in its maintenance. Whether there is law to that effect or not, I think that is both the ethical and neighborly thing to do.

[Cvillecpm]

Shared road agreement should be shared equally among the residents on the road. Otherwise, you maintain the area in front of your residence and let the others maintain theirs - of course, the other 6 residents get to use your portion to access their homes so paying 1/7 of the entire costs make sense from your standpoint.

[Fr_Chuck]

On a shared road the custom is that all costs are split equally among the uses. This can often be done informally or though an association,