What is an easement on my property?
An easement is a legal right for someone else to use a specific part of your land for a specific purpose, such as access, utilities, or drainage.
An easement gives another person or entity a limited right to use your property without owning it. The right is usually recorded in the public land records and transfers to future owners when the property is sold.
Common residential easements include utility easements for power and sewer lines, driveway easements for shared access, and drainage easements for stormwater. Less common types include conservation easements and prescriptive easements created by long use.
An easement can reduce how you use the affected part of your lot. You may not be able to build, fence, or landscape inside the easement corridor. The easement holder can also enter the property to maintain its rights.
What to look for
- Recorded easement documents in your deed or title commitment.
- The specific purpose, width, and location of each easement.
- Whether the easement is appurtenant (runs with the land) or in gross (personal to a utility or individual).
- Any maintenance, access, or removal clauses.
People also ask
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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