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An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B.
Easements require existence of two parties:The party gaining the benefit of the easement - Dominant estate.The party granting the burden – Servient estate.
An affirmative easement is the right to use another's property for a specific purpose, while a negative easement is the right to prevent another from performing an otherwise lawful activity on their property.
• PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EASEMENTSA private easement is held by private
individuals or entities. A public easement grants an easement for a public use, for example, to allow the public an access over a parcel owned by an individual.
• EXPRESS AND IMPLIED EASEMENTSAn express easement may be "granted"
or "reserved" in a deed or other legal instrument. Implied easements are not recorded or explicitly stated, but reflect the practices and customs of use for a property. They are very complex.
• EASEMENT BY NECESSITYNecessity alone is an insufficient claim to
create any easement. A court order is necessary to determine the existence of an easement by necessity. This method of creating an easement, being an active creation by a court of an otherwise non-existent right, will be automatically extinguished upon termination of the necessity.
• EASEMENT BY PRIOR USEEasements by prior use are based on the
idea that land owners can intend to create an easement, but forget to include it in the deed. Eg: A sells the front lot, but forgets to get an easement for driveway access. An easement may be created by prior use.
Five elements to establish an easement by prior use are:1. Common ownership of both properties at one time 2. Followed by a severance 3. Use occurs before the severance and afterward
• EASEMENT BY PRESCRIPTIONEasements by prescription, also called
prescriptive easements, are implied easements granted after the dominant estate has used the property in a hostile, continuous and open manner for a statutorily prescribed number of years.
• EASEMENT BY ESTOPPELWhen a property owner misrepresents the existence of
an easement while selling a property and does not include an express easement in the deed to the buyer, the court may step in and create an easement. Easements by estoppel generally look to any promises not made in writing, any money spent by the benefiting party in reliance on the representations of the burdened party. If the court finds that the buyer acted in good faith and relied on the seller's promises, the court will create an easement by estoppel.
1. An easement is a privilege to use or occupy the land of another for a specific duration and for a precise and definite purpose which is not inconsistent with the owner's rights in the property. License is the personal and revocable permission to perform acts on the land of another.
Thus concluding, an easement is a right which the owner of a property has to compel the owner of another property to permit something to be done, or to refrain from doing something on the servient element for the benefit of the dominant element.