What is an easement by necessity?
An easement by necessity gives a landlocked parcel legal access across a neighboring parcel when no other reasonable access exists.
When a parcel is completely surrounded by other private land and has no public road frontage, the law may imply an easement by necessity over the most reasonable route to a public road. The easement is usually the shortest and least damaging path.
This type of easement is implied by law, not created by a written document. It typically requires strict necessity at the time the parcels were separated from common ownership, though some states relax this standard.
An easement by necessity can be lost if the dominant parcel gains another access route. It is also narrower than many written easements and may allow only ingress and egress, not parking or utilities.
What to look for
- Whether the parcel has any public road frontage.
- The common ownership history of the dominant and servient parcels.
- The most reasonable route to a public road.
- Whether the necessity still exists or has been eliminated by a new access route.
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.
Know your easements before you close
Upload your title commitment and get a plain-English easement audit in minutes.