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What is an Easement?
An easement is a right which one has over limited use of someone else’s property. For example, say Person A owns a piece of land. Person B owns the adjoining property. However, Person B has an easement to walk through a certain area on Person A’s property. The easement is restricted to that specific use.
How are Easements Created?
Easements are usually created by a contract. The parties each create a written agreement granting the easement. Sometimes, a property owner will reserve an easement for themselves when giving up the property ownership. A casual conversation is usually not held to create an enforceable easement.
To create a written easement, you must have a written instrument describing the easement’s location and interest, with a signature; and proper delivery to the easement holder.
Easements can also be acquired in different situations that do not require an actual written instrument. They may be created by necessity, where the easement is required to provide access for a piece of property that is surrounded by another person’s property on all sides.
What Types of Easements are there?
Affirmative Easements
The right to use someone else’s property for a specific purpose.
Negative Easements
A negative easement would prevent a neighbor from using land in a certain way. This can apply, for example, where an adjacent landowner is blocking a scenic view.
Utility Easements
These easements are usually given to a utility company or local government in which they use a landowners land to run utility lines, cable wires, etc.
Private Easements
Easements that are usually sold by a property owner to another for use of a driveway, water pipes, etc.
Public Easements
These would be to allow members of the general public to cross over the land.
Easement by Estoppel
This a type of easement usually created when an owner acts such that another person reasonably believes he or she has an interest in land, and he or she acts or does not act in reliance on that belief.
Easement Appurtenant
An example of an easement appurtenant would be an easement allowing you to drive over your neighbor’s property to in order to reach your property.
Easement in Gross
In this type of easement, only property is involved, and the rights of other owners are not considered.
Easements by Necessity
If it is absolutely necessary to cross someone’s land, an easement by necessity usually exists. This occurs where there is no access to a public road or highway and the easement is necessary to provide access to a landlocked land.
Prescriptive Easements
If your neighbor has been using a portion of land for a certain period of time, he may have a prescriptive easement which is usually acquired by routine, adverse use of another’s land.
Should I Hire an Easement Lawyer?
If your company gets involved in a dispute about an easement, then you may want to contact a Nashville Easement Lawyer to discuss your rights. Call Ben Powers today!
Ben Powers’ law practice extends throughout Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, Franklin, Nolensville, and Thompson’s Station.
What Is Real Property Law?
Real property law, also called land law, is a specialized kind of law that concerns real estate, land use and property. Real property differs from private property in that private property refers to anything that can be moved (vehicles, furniture, possessions, etc.) while real property concerns land itself and anything immovable on it (homes, development, minerals in the land, etc.).
You may need an attorney specializing in real property law if you have a complicated land dispute, have received a codes violation, want to pursue a permit or license for your property, or are interested in establishing new property rights or enforcing well-established rights.
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