Easements in Salt Lake County, UT
Historic irrigation ditches run through many Salt Lake County neighborhoods, often with rights far older than the houses now sitting beside them.
Salt Lake 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.
Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-201; Valcarce v. Fitzgerald, 961 P.2d 305 (Utah 1998)
Read the Utah rulesEasements you'll see most often here
- Irrigation ditch and canal easements
- Public utility easements
- Shared driveway easements on older blocks
- Storm drain easements
Local things to watch for
- Ditch companies hold enforceable access rights even where the ditch is now piped.
- Some ditch easements are prescriptive rather than recorded.
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 Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake County?
Irrigation ditch and canal easements, Public utility easements, Shared driveway easements on older blocks, among others. Ditch companies hold enforceable access rights even where the ditch is now piped.
Can a neighbor gain a permanent right to cross my Salt Lake County land?
In Utah, 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 Salt Lake City?
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.