Shared Well - use if not paying

[Bentley]

Jurisdiction

California

I bought a house with a shared well but I was never handed an agreement, nor did I sign anything. There is something in my escrow docs stating access to the well but that is about it.
I supply water to 3 other parcels and read the meters to share the electricity cost monthly. I send the notice via text on the amount owed and 2 of the 3 parcels send payment within a reasonable amount of time. I have one parcel that does not pay for months at a time and seems they are refusing to pay all together now. They also have a couple of businesses and use a high amount of water (double the other parcels). They run a home school with about 100 children there weekly and a non-profit business of some sort. They are asking for my water bill to write off on the non-profit.
My question is: Can I shut off the water for non payment? I feel they are out of line in so many ways.

 

[Zigner]

I bought a house with a shared well but I was never handed an agreement, nor did I sign anything. There is something in my escrow docs stating access to the well but that is about it.
I supply water to 3 other parcels and read the meters to share the electricity cost monthly. I send the notice via text on the amount owed and 2 of the 3 parcels send payment within a reasonable amount of time. I have one parcel that does not pay for months at a time and seems they are refusing to pay all together now. They also have a couple of businesses and use a high amount of water (double the other parcels). They run a home school with about 100 children there weekly and a non-profit business of some sort. They are asking for my water bill to write off on the non-profit.
My question is: Can I shut off the water for non payment? I feel they are out of line in so many ways.

It sounds like it's time to come up with an agreement. You should contact a local attorney before taking any steps like shutting off their access to the well.

 

[Bentley]

I am working on putting an agreement together but I was looking for some answers on what my rights are. Can you provide any more details on the rights when not documented. Are there laws that say I have to provide the water?

 

[adjusterjack]

Are there laws that say I have to provide the water?

My guess is yes.

I suggest starting with the CA Department of Water Resources and see if they can point you to any statutes regarding your obligations.

Wells

Beyond that I can't imagine why you don't just sue these people for non-payment.

 

[zddoodah]

I bought a house with a shared well but I was never handed an agreement, nor did I sign anything.

You bought a house without receiving an agreements and without ever signing a single piece of paper? Sorry, but that's utterly unbelievable.

There is something in my escrow docs stating access to the well but that is about it.

I assume you understand that this sentence conveys no useful information.

My question is: Can I shut off the water for non payment?

Given that your post conveys zero relevant information about the relevant agreements, including easements, we obviously have no way of knowing. I suggest you take the relevant papers to a local attorney for advice.

 

[army judge]

Can I shut off the water for non payment?

I suspect YOU have the ABILITY to shut off the water, if that is what YOU choose to do.

On the other hand, if you choose to shut off the water upon the advice and counsel of a stranger, YOU alone would suffer the legal repercussions of such a hasty decision.

Before you do anything foolish, I suggest you seek the counsel of a California licensed property or real estate attorney.

Furthermore, I suggest if you seek professional legal counsel, you ask the attorney to provide you with a written "legal opinion".

I'll allow the California attorney you retain to explain you how a written "legal opinion" protects you.

 

[Bentley]

Thank you all. I have hired an attorney. Its too hard to explain the whole situation in a paragraph.
Zddoodah, there were documents signed of course, just no well agreement specifically signed by myself or the other home owner. More to the story but I cant write it all out, sorry. Just forget I asked.