REAL ESTATE PRINCIPLES

RE101

Easements

Easement: An easement is a right to use someone else’s real property for a

limited purpose.

Easement appurtenant: An easement appurtenant burdens one property

for the benefit of another. It’s appurtenant to and increases the value of the
benefited property.

Running with the land: An easement appurtenant runs with the land.
This means that its burden and its benefit are passed along to the subsequent
owners of the servient and dominant properties.

Easement in gross: An easement in gross benefits only a person, not a

piece of property. An easement in gross is assignable, inheritable, and
transferable.

Commercial easement in gross: A commercial easement in gross is

one that it granted to a utility or other business for business purposes.

Creation of Easements

Express Grant: To create an easement against her property for the benefit of
someone else, a property owner must put the grant of easement in writing. The
grantee should have the deed or other document recorded.

Express Reservation: A property owner who is transferring part of his

property to someone else may reserve an easement against the parcel he’s selling
for the benefit of the property he’s keeping.

Implication: An easement by implication arises when part of a larger property

is sold and the seller fails to grant or reserve an express easement. The easement
by implication must be reasonably necessary, and there must have been apparent
prior use at the time of sale.
Prescription: An easement by prescription is created through long-term use
of property without the owner’s permission.

Reference to recorded plat: A purchaser of subdivided property receives

easements to use all roads and alleys shown on the plat recorded by the subdivider.

Dedication: An easement is created by dedication if a private owner donates

easement rights to the government. Long-term public use can result in implied
dedication, and the government won’t be required to compensate the private
owner.

Condemnation: Through the condemnation process, the government can

force a private property owner to grant it an easement. The easement must b e
needed for a public purpose, and the government must compensate the private
owner.

Termination of Easements

Release: If the dominant tenant executes and release of his easement rights and
the servient tenant records the release, the easement is terminated. It no longer
encumbers the title to the servient property.

Merger: If the dominant and servient properties come to be owned by the same
person, the easement terminates by merger.

Failure of purpose: If the purpose that an easement was created to serve

ceases to exist, then the easement may be considered terminated.

Abandonment: If the dominant tenant engages in actions that indicate an

intention to stop using the easement forever, the easement may terminate by
abandonment.

Prescription: If the servient tenant makes it impossible for the dominant

tenant to use the easement, and the dominant tenant does not take action for five
years or more, the easement is terminated by prescription.