Homeowner in my Neighborhood claims I am trespassing if I fly under 500 ft above his house - legal?

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Hi there,

A local resident of my community forum (Nextdoor.com) has posted that no one has the right to fly a drone over his property under 500 ft. He is pointing people to the US "Bundle Of Rights" law, which I Googled, which states that private property owners must grant an easement to anyone flying any sort of aircraft over their property under 500 ft in an urban or suburban areas and 360 ft in rural areas.

I objected to his statement, and pointed out that the FAA does not allow UAV flight over 400 ft, effectively making it impossible to fly a drone over private property in any urban or suburban area of the US, according to his assertion. He said that is correct. He maintained that he has the full right to sue any drone flyer for "trespassing" if they fly over his property. I asked him to present legal precedent for this and he said there soon would be. He claims that the FAA has no right to violate a homeowner's property rights by granting an "easement" over their property.

Has there been any legal precedent for a property owner claiming "Bundle Of Rights" laws against a drone flyer? I'm sure violation of privacy is common, but could someone actually sue me for trespassing just for flying over their property under 500 ft? If not, what is the legal limit for flying over someone's property, provided you are not violating their privacy?

Insight appreciated!
 
Hi there,

A local resident of my community forum (Nextdoor.com) has posted that no one has the right to fly a drone over his property under 500 ft. He is pointing people to the US "Bundle Of Rights" law, which I Googled, which states that private property owners must grant an easement to anyone flying any sort of aircraft over their property under 500 ft in an urban or suburban areas and 360 ft in rural areas.

I objected to his statement, and pointed out that the FAA does not allow UAV flight over 400 ft, effectively making it impossible to fly a drone over private property in any urban or suburban area of the US, according to his assertion. He said that is correct. He maintained that he has the full right to sue any drone flyer for "trespassing" if they fly over his property. I asked him to present legal precedent for this and he said there soon would be. He claims that the FAA has no right to violate a homeowner's property rights by granting an "easement" over their property.

Has there been any legal precedent for a property owner claiming "Bundle Of Rights" laws against a drone flyer? I'm sure violation of privacy is common, but could someone actually sue me for trespassing just for flying over their property under 500 ft? If not, what is the legal limit for flying over someone's property, provided you are not violating their privacy?

Insight appreciated!
Yeh pehmission needed not sure about high fly bys,ive had couple occasions with unhappy public around houses,always think you spying,always a couple bad lemons,i live in middle of valley with hills both sides ,one side 850ft one side 1200ft with houses inbetween,used to just go all over till i got a visit,(algood no broken bones)but got one hell of a lecture ,,now i just avoid the whole situation and at good open locations with no houses,makes for better flying anyway,and nother fear i always had was drone fallen out the sky at speed and goin through someones house or car or some poor bugger,be right in the poo,well that my 2 cent story :)
 
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This is a common misconception. Property owner or not, he cannot assert any control of the air above his property. The FAA manages the National Airspace System across the entire country which consists of everything from the ground up. Not even states or cities can enact laws to control airspace though many mistakenly try.

This said, drones are a new use of that airspace and legislation has not really had a chance to catch up at a federal level outside of a few bare bones rules for amateur use.

Furthermore, there other laws to consider at a local level including invading privacy and/disturbing the peace. If you're buzzing over his property frequently or at low altitudes or trying to catch pics of his wife in her bikini, you could easily be on the wrong end of these laws.

All things considered, your best bet is to avoid his property alltogether.
 
A local resident of my community forum (Nextdoor.com) has posted that no one has the right to fly a drone over his property under 500 ft. He is pointing people to the US "Bundle Of Rights" law
He's playing amateur lawyer and not very well.
There is no Bundle of Rights law.
 
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Actually, there is a "Bundle of Rights" that has been employed for a long time to define, from a real estate standpoint, what "ownership" actually means. It does not contain any specific reference to drone overflights, of course, but there is ample room for inference. A pretty good article on the Bundle of Rights is here-

What are Your Real Estate Ownership Rights?

Those "rights" plus the real estate concept that ones property "commences at the earth's center and extends to the heavens" leave plenty of room for lawyers to make a pretty good living in this area alone. The usual result of legal proceedings is what I call an outflow of treated effluent competition.
 
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I don't fly in my neighborhood. No matter who is wrong or right legally, I like to get along with my neighbors. Common sense would tell us not everyone is going to be happy about our hobby. I go somewhere else to fly.
 
I'm shocked by these self-entitled "paranoid" home owners. Do they honestly think us drone hobbyists have the sole goal of hovering above their homes and spying on them?

Just the other day I was out mowing my lawn when I noticed a Mavic Pro fly over my street. My first (and only) thought was how cool it was to see another UAV flying in our neighborhood.

People these days are downright ridiculous...
 
lol It has happened plenty of times.
Doesn't change the fact that people these days are conditioned to overreact and blow these scenarios out of proportion. If a neighbor (or anyone for that matter) has an issue, all they have to do is reasonably approach the person flying and ask them not to fly over their home(s). There's a shocking lack of education/intelligence these days.
 
Yes. Victim-ization is power.

All you have to do is 'feel' x, y, or z and you are impowered.
 
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This "neighbor" doesn't actually live in my neighborhood, he posted on an information sharing website for our entire city called nextdoor.com. It identifies his general region (about 4 square miles) but not his address. As I mentioned he claimed he saw a drone hovered 150 yards away (he later amended to 150 feet) and thought it was watching him through his window, then a torrent of neighbors unleashed a bevy of ways to deal with it, from rocks to slingshots to guns.

It led me to be the sole defender of the drone pilot and also to think that maybe there were some "laws" I was violating if I simply fly over private property that I didn't know about. Thus the post.
 
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Last May was the first time I got negative feedback. Of all places, it was at our rural summer cottage. I was at 50 m altitude and snapped a few springtime images of our cottage and our yard and beach. When I was landing, a member of the neighbor's shared cottage hurried nearby saying he didn't want a drone above their property. I was just landing so I just mumbled "oh yes, oh yes" and he went away before I could explain I was just taking pictures of OUR property and obviously had to do it outside our property.

I was somewhat annoyed but at the same time I could understand his feelings. From now on I plan to check if there is anyone at home at the neighbor if I need to hover above them under 50-99m. If I hover 1-2min above 100m or if I'm just passing through at 50m at 50km/h or so, I think it doesn't matter?
 
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