Have you ever seen electrical poles standing on private property? Or a path that gives a home access to the road, but crosses property belonging to another individual? These things might be examples of easements, which affect property owners’ rights and obligations.
In property law, an easement is a nonpossessory interest in another party’s land. Put in more simple terms, when you own a piece of property “burdened” with an easement, you promise to do or not do something on that property that benefits a person or other piece of property.
Here’s an example: say property A sits between property B and the road. To gain access to the road, the owner of property B may get the owner of property A to grant her permission to drive through a portion of A, perhaps in exchange for money.
This is an example of an affirmative easement, which authorizes a non-owner to use a piece of land in some way. There are also negative easements, which limit what the land owner can do on his or her property. Negative easements are often used to limit construction on property to protect a neighbor’s access to sunlight.
Obtaining an easement on someone else’s property can increase the value of your property, or at least improve your ability to use and enjoy it. But to ensure that the easement is properly created, in the way that both owners intend it to be, it is wise to get the assistance of a real estate attorney.