Easements in Hillsborough County, FL
Rapid suburban growth around Tampa layers new stormwater easements on top of older agricultural access and utility rights.
Hillsborough County Clerk of Court
The county publishes a free public parcel viewer showing platted easement strips.
About 20 years of open, continuous, adverse use is generally required.
Fla. Stat. § 95.361; Downing v. Bird, 100 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 1958)
Read the Florida rulesEasements you'll see most often here
- Stormwater and drainage easements
- Electric distribution easements
- Private road easements in unincorporated areas
- Conservation easements on wetland parcels
Local things to watch for
- Wetland conservation easements often cover the rear third of a large lot.
- Unincorporated parcels may depend on a maintained-by-nobody private road 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 Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County Clerk of Court, 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 Hillsborough County?
Stormwater and drainage easements, Electric distribution easements, Private road easements in unincorporated areas, among others. Wetland conservation easements often cover the rear third of a large lot.
Can a neighbor gain a permanent right to cross my Hillsborough County land?
In Florida, open, continuous, and adverse use generally has to run for about 20 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 Tampa?
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.