What is a prescriptive easement?
A prescriptive easement is a right to use someone else's land that is created by open, continuous, and unauthorized use for the period required by state law.
Unlike a written easement, a prescriptive easement arises from use. If a person uses part of a neighbor's property openly, continuously, and without permission for the statutory period, they may gain a legal right to continue that use.
The required period varies widely by state, commonly from 5 to 20 years. Some states also require the use to be hostile, adverse, exclusive, or under a claim of right. The exact elements depend on state law.
Prescriptive easements are a frequent source of boundary disputes. A neighbor's fence, driveway, path, or garden that crosses onto your lot could mature into a prescriptive easement if it meets the statutory test and the true owner does not stop it in time.
What to look for
- Long-standing uses that do not match the surveyed boundary.
- The statutory prescriptive period for your state.
- Whether the use was open, continuous, and without permission.
- Any written permission given to the neighbor, which can defeat a prescriptive claim.
Rhode Island prescriptive easement law
In Rhode Island, prescriptive easements generally require 10 years of open, continuous, and adverse use. Read the full Rhode Island summary.
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.
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