Easements in Los Angeles County, CA
Century-old subdivisions layered with modern utility upgrades mean many Los Angeles County parcels carry easements recorded long before the current house existed.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
The county publishes a free public parcel viewer showing platted easement strips.
About 5 years of open, continuous, adverse use is generally required.
Cal. Civ. Proc. Code §§ 321, 325; Cal. Civ. Code § 1007
Read the California rulesEasements you'll see most often here
- Overhead and underground utility easements
- Storm drain and flood control easements
- Shared driveway easements on hillside lots
- Oil and mineral rights with surface entry language
Local things to watch for
- Mineral reservations sometimes waive surface entry — read the waiver, not just the reservation.
- Hillside parcels often depend on a recorded slope maintenance easement.
Check your own lot
Upload your title commitment and we'll translate Schedule B into plain English, then map the easements against your parcel boundary — free.
Common questions
How do I find out if my Los Angeles County property has an easement?
Start with the title commitment or owner's policy from your purchase — easements are listed in Schedule B. Recorded easements are also indexed by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, and the county's free public parcel viewer usually shows platted easement strips. A current survey catches anything used on the ground but never recorded.
What easements are most common in Los Angeles County?
Overhead and underground utility easements, Storm drain and flood control easements, Shared driveway easements on hillside lots, among others. Mineral reservations sometimes waive surface entry — read the waiver, not just the reservation.
Can a neighbor gain a permanent right to cross my Los Angeles County land?
In California, open, continuous, and adverse use generally has to run for about 5 years before a prescriptive easement can be claimed. Permission given in writing usually stops the clock, because the use is then no longer adverse.
Does an easement lower property value in Los Angeles?
It depends on where it sits and what it prohibits. A narrow utility strip along a rear lot line rarely affects value. An easement that crosses the buildable area, bars fences and structures, or gives someone else a driveway through the yard can meaningfully limit what the property can become.
Know your easements before you close
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General educational reference only. Prescription periods and their exceptions change, and several states set the period by case law rather than by statute. Read the linked official code and consult a licensed attorney in that state before relying on any of it.