The answer is that easements which “run with the land,” or, in other words, are tied to the land, will be transferred with the land. There are generally two types of easements when it comes to “running with the land” issues. They are easements “appurtenant” and “easements in gross.” An easement “appurtenant” typically runs with the land.
Does easement follow the land or the owners?
Easements that are for the benefit of the land will remain with the property. While easements that are the benefit of the specific person are not. If the easement doesn't remain with the property then it is up to the new owner to decide whether or not they will honor it.
Can you use an easement to access land for hunting?
These easements only allow specific methods of access defined in the land records for the conveyance. Hunting, fishing, or any other kind of recreation is not allowed on a 17 (b) easement because the underlying land belongs to the Native Corporation.
What is land which is subject to an easement?
Land affected or "burdened" by an easement is called a "servient estate," while the land or person benefited by the easement is known as the "dominant estate." If the easement benefits a particular piece of land, it's said to be "appurtenant" to the land.
Does an exclusive use easement run with the LAN?
Therefore, easements in gross do not run with the land, even if the person being benefitted by the easement in gross owned adjoining land to that of the landowner who gave the easement. As such, easements in gross have servient estates, i.e., the parcel over which the easement runs, but not dominant estates, since they are not for the benefit ...
What are the three types of easements?
There are several types of easements, including:utility easements.private easements.easements by necessity, and.prescriptive easements (acquired by someone's use of property).
Is the property which benefits from an easement?
The property which benefits from an easement is referred to as the: dominant tenement.
Which of the following is said to run with the land?
A covenant, a written promise or restriction on the use of land, is said to run with the land when either the obligation to perform it or the right to take advantage of it passes to the one to whom the land is transferred. West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2.
What is an easement in simple terms?
An easement is the grant of a nonpossessory property interest that grants the easement holder permission to use another person's land.
What is meant by easement in property law?
4 "Easement" defined. - An easement is a right which the owner or occupier of certain land possesses, as such, for the beneficial enjoyment of that land, to do and continue to do something, or to prevent and continue to prevent something being done, in or upon, or in respect of, certain other land not his own.
What covenants do not run with the land?
By contrast, a covenant does NOT run with the land if it is “personal” or tied to any individual owner. Promises purely for the benefit of one having no interest in the land will not be enforced against successive owners of real property as a covenant running with the land.
Do rights run with the land?
"Running with the land" refers to the rights and covenants in a real estate deed that remain with the land regardless of ownership. When rights and covenants run with the land when the property changes hands.
Do easements bind successors?
Easements are interests in land, so they can be conveyed and bind successors in title to the land.
What is an easement in gross?
Easement in Gross. Traditionally, easements in gross were easements that could not be transferred and were not tied to a particular piece of land. A person could grant an easement across a residence to a neighbor, but this type of easement would not continue if the neighbor (holder of the easement rights) sold the property.
What is an easement appurtenant?
Easement Appurtenant. When the title is transferred, the easement typically remains with the property. This case is known as an easement appurtenant. This type of easement "runs with the land," which means that if the property is bought or sold, it is bought or sold with the easement in place.
Can you use an easement on a parcel of land?
If a parcel of property with an easement across it is sub-divided into smaller lots and sold to different people, and the geography is such that each of the smaller lots can benefit from the easement, then each will usually be permitted to use the easement.
Is a personal easement transferable?
Today, courts typically refer to these types of easements as "personal" easements. Nevertheless, an easement that began as personal may be transferable, particularly if it is a commercial easement, such as a utility easement.
What is an easement in real estate?
The prevalence of easements and their nonpossessory nature creates a unique set of considerations when creating, interpreting, and implementing an easement. It's essential to have a basic understanding of the way they're created, their scope and transferability, and how they're terminated. A real estate attorney with easement experience can help set you on the right path.
How are easements created?
Easements are usually created by a transfer in a deed or some other written document such as a will or contract. Creating an easement requires the same formalities as the transferring or creating of other interests in land. It typically requires a written document, a signature, and proper delivery of the document.
What is the right of an easement holder?
As a general rule, an easement holder has a right to do "whatever is reasonably convenient or necessary in order to enjoy fully the purposes for which the easement was granted," as long as they do not place an unreasonable burden on the servient land.
What is an easement created by implication?
Two common easements created by implication are easements of necessity and easements implied from quasi-easements.
What is an easement in gross?
If the easement benefits a particular piece of land, it's said to be "appurtenant" to the land. If the easement only benefits an individual personally , not as an owner of a particular piece of land, the easement is known as "in gross.". Most types of easements are affirmative, which means that they allow the use of another's land.
What is the termination of an easement?
Termination of Easements. Easement Attorneys. An easement is a property right that gives its holder an interest in land that's owned by someone else. It's common for people to lack a clear understanding of easements and the numerous legal problems that can arise in their creation, interpretation, and implementation.
When is an easement terminated?
An easement may be terminated when an individual owning the dominant estate purchases the servient estate, or when the holder of an easement releases his or her right in the easement (in writing) to the owner of the servient estate.
What is an easement?
An easement is the legal right of a non-owner to use a specific part of another person’s land for a specific purpose. B. What are the purposes and benefits of easements? Easements are used to provide non-owners with rights of ingress, egress, utilities, and drainage over a specific portion of another’s land.
How are easements created?
They can be created in deeds, easement agreements, subdivision declarations, and condominium declarations, all of which are recorded in the land records (the “Public Records”), just like deeds and mortgages. The better practice is to create an easement using an agreement or declaration, rather than a deed, because easements created in deeds typically do not adequately address all of the issues pertaining to easements. Whatever document is used, it must be executed before two witnesses and a notary public.
What is an egress and an ing?
Ingress and egress are terms for the easement right to travel to and from a property over the lands of another – they provide pedestrian and/or vehicular access. Utilities include electric power, telephone, cable television, internet, natural gas, water, wastewater, reclaimed water, and sewer services.
How long do appurtenant easements last?
Easements in gross, however, unless they are utility easements given to companies that provide such services, typically only last as long as the individual benefited by them is alive or otherwise uses the easement. However, all easements can be limited to a certain period of time, according to their terms.
How to terminate an easement?
The easement holder may unilaterally terminate the easement by executing, delivering, and recording a written release of the easement or a quit claim deed conveying the easement back to the owner of the servient estate.
What is an easement in a subdivision?
In subdivisions, easements in the subdivision’s declaration of protective covenants are what provide homeowners with the rights to use the subdivision’s common areas – parks, clubhouses, pools, playgrounds, tennis courts, walking paths, horse trails, private roads, etc. C.
What happens if a right of way line and boundary line do not coincide?
If a boundary line of the property being purchased and a right-of-way line do not coincide, the buyer needs to be certain that the property being purchased has an easement giving the buyer the legal right to cross over whatever property lies between the property being purchased and the public road.
What is an Easement?
An easement is the right to use someone else’s property. It is not property ownership; yet it is a property interest in land that conveys upon the owner of the easement, some right, benefit, dominion, or lawful use out of or over the estate of another.
Running With the Land
When land is sold, leased or otherwise transferred, a critical question is whether or not the easement gets transferred also.
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What is an easement on a property?
An easement gives a person or organization a legal right to use someone else’s land—but only for a needed purpose . A utility company may have an easement on your property to access an electrical pole. Or if your driveway overlaps your property line, you might rely on an easement on your neighbor’s property to get to your garage.
What is property rights easement?
The property rights an easement allows depends on the rules of your specific easement. There are many types, but these are some of the features that help define them: Appurtenant versus gross easements: An appurtenant easement allows a property owner access to land that’s only accessible through a neighbor’s land.
What do you need to know about easements when buying a home?
Does this property have easements? Legally, sellers must disclose easements on their property during the sale, so you should know if an easement exists by the time you have a purchase agreement, if not sooner.
What is a prescriptive easement?
Prescriptive easement: Prescriptive describes the way in which an easement comes into being. This is when someone is using a property owner’s land regularly for a certain period of time (set by state law) without being restricted by the owner. This is commonly known as “squatter’s rights.”. 3.
Can an appurtenant have a private easement?
Public versus private: Both appurtenant and gross easements can grant access to public or private entities or properties. A private easement might allow a neighbor to access your property, and a public one might allow any member of the public to walk through your yard.
Do easements expire?
If the easement holder agrees to terminate, it could be a smoother process. And in some cases, easements have an expiration date (this would be stated in your deed), so that could be good news. Other cases are challengeable, but harder. For instance, if there’s a prescriptive easement that’s not in continuous use ...
Is an easement good or bad?
Found out the home you’re planning to buy has an easement on the property? That could be a good thing, a bad thing, or an entirely neutral thing. Here’s what easements are, and how they affect your property rights.
What is common easement?
For example, a common easement is one that a utility company has for placing cables, pipes, or other equipment under or over the property to allow property owners to use their utilities. Another common easement is if you and your neighbor share ...
What is an easement in gross?
However, if you've given your neighbor access to an area of your property for a specific purpose, and it's not in the deed, this type of easement is an "easement in gross.". For example, you may decide to allow your neighbor to use your property to access the lake that's only behind your house.
How does the dominant easement holder give up the easement?
The dominant easement holder gives up the easement by transferring the easement in a deed to the servient owner. Real estate law and easements are tricky, so hiring a real estate attorney is a good idea when trying to discover what hidden issues come with the property. If you find that the property you want comes with an easement, ...
How to check if a property has an easement?
To check for an easement on the property, you can take the following steps: 1 Contact the utility companies to see if they have any easements on your property. 2 Check with the county clerk or county land records office to find out whether the prior deed shows an easement. 3 Obtain a survey of the property to see if there are any easements and where they're located. 4 Get a title company to do a title search of the property, which will uncover any easements and other burdens on the property. 5 Make sure to get a warranty deed from the owner, as it must show any easements on the property.
What happens when an easement is no longer usable?
The easement is no longer usable through no fault of the servient property owner. The easement holder signs a release to the servient property holder, removing the easement. The servient property owner purchases the dominant property, thereby removing the easement. The dominant easement holder gives up the easement by transferring ...
What are the consequences of having an easement on your property?
Whether you're the dominant or servient property of an easement, having an easement can sometimes negatively affect the value of your property. Not everyone wants to buy property with an easement on it, so the property with the easement may take longer to sell.
Why are utility easements bad?
Utility easements are often a problem because if you want to build something such as an in-ground swimming pool on your own land, you might be unable to do so if there are pipes and cables in the way. Likewise, if the utility company has an easement to erect poles or power lines, your property value could take a nosedive. s.
Table of Contents
Easements at A Glance
- An easement is a "nonpossessory" property interest that allows the holder of the easement to have a right of way or use property that they do not own or possess. An easement doesn't allow the easement holder to occupy the land or to exclude others from the land unless they interfere with the easement holder's use. In contrast, the property owner ma...
Creation of An Easement
- Easements are usually created by a transfer in a deed or some other written document such as a will or contract. Creating an easement requires the same formalities as the transferring or creating of other interests in land. It typically requires a written document, a signature, and proper delivery of the document. In limited cases, a court will create an easement by implying its existe…
Rights and Remedies Under An Easement
- As a general rule, an easement holder has a right to do "whatever is reasonably convenient or necessary in order to enjoy fully the purposes for which the easement was granted," as long as they do not place an unreasonable burden on the servient land. On the other hand, the owner of the servient land may make any use of that land that does not unduly interfere with the easemen…
Transferability
- In general, an easement appurtenant is transferred with the dominant property even if this is not mentioned in the transferring document. But the document transferring the dominant estate may expressly provide that the easement shall not pass with the land. Because easements in gross are treated as a right of personal enjoyment for the original holder, they are generally not transferabl…
Other Legal Issues to Consider
- Courts generally assume easements are created to last forever unless otherwise indicated in the document creating the easement. Despite this, an individual granting an easement should avoid any potential problems by expressly providing that the easement is permanent.
Termination of Easements
- Although permanent easements are the norm, they can be terminatedin a number of ways. These are some of the ways easements can be terminated 1. Construction work ends. Easements of limited duration commonly used to provide temporary access to a dominant estate will be terminated upon the completion of construction work. 2. One owner buys the other out. An ease…
Let An Attorney Ease Your Easement Concerns
- The prevalence of easements and their nonpossessory nature creates a unique set of considerations when creating, interpreting, and implementing an easement. It's essential to have a basic understanding of the way they're created, their scope and transferability, and how they're terminated. A real estate attorneywith easement experience can help set you on the right path.