Easements in DuPage County, IL
Post-war subdivisions give DuPage County highly regular platted easements, with stormwater management easements added on nearly everything built after the 1990s.
DuPage County Recorder
The county publishes a free public parcel viewer showing platted easement strips.
About 20 years of open, continuous, adverse use is generally required.
735 ILCS 5/13-101; common law prescription
Read the Illinois rulesEasements you'll see most often here
- Stormwater management and detention easements
- Public utility easements on the plat
- Sanitary sewer easements
- Bike path and trail easements
Local things to watch for
- Stormwater easements often prohibit fences and sheds, not just structures.
- Detention areas may be jointly maintained by the HOA and the municipality.
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 DuPage 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 DuPage County Recorder, 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 DuPage County?
Stormwater management and detention easements, Public utility easements on the plat, Sanitary sewer easements, among others. Stormwater easements often prohibit fences and sheds, not just structures.
Can a neighbor gain a permanent right to cross my DuPage County land?
In Illinois, 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 Naperville?
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.