Easements in Mecklenburg County, NC
Charlotte-area infill and creek networks make storm drainage and sanitary sewer easements the dominant title issues in Mecklenburg County.
Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds
The county publishes a free public parcel viewer showing platted easement strips.
About 20 years of open, continuous, adverse use is generally required.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-40, 1-38
Read the North Carolina rulesEasements you'll see most often here
- Storm drainage easements
- Sanitary sewer easements
- Utility easements for power and communications
- Access easements on subdivided infill lots
Local things to watch for
- Floodplain overlays frequently coincide with drainage easements along creeks.
- Infill splits often create a new access easement that is not on the original plat.
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 Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds, 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 Mecklenburg County?
Storm drainage easements, Sanitary sewer easements, Utility easements for power and communications, among others. Floodplain overlays frequently coincide with drainage easements along creeks.
Can a neighbor gain a permanent right to cross my Mecklenburg County land?
In North Carolina, 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 Charlotte?
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.