An easement is a legal right to pass through another party’s property, or use it for certain other purposes, without being considered a trespasser. Easements are considered legal interests in real property, and in some cases, they can be bought, sold, or even leased. California easement law recognizes four different major types of easements.

Easement by Express Grant

An easement by express grant is created when a property owner voluntarily grants an easement to another party. Such an easement must be in written form to be enforceable as an express grant – in a deed, for example, or in a written contract. Naturally, these are the easiest types of easements to prove.

An easement by express grant can also be created by eminent domain – the power of the government to forcibly transfer an ownership interest in a property as long as it is for the public good and a fair price is given. The government might, for example, build a highway through your property and grant the public an easement to drive on it.

Implied Easements

An implied easement typically occurs when a single parcel of land is divided into two separate parcels, sold by the original owner to two different parties, and one of these properties lacks access to a public road that the other parcel enjoys access to. The party that owns the parcel without access may seek an implied easement by claiming that the original owner obviously intended an easement to exist. 

To qualify as an implied easement, the party seeking the easement must prove the “strict necessity” of the easement. An alternative route to a public road, even if it is inconvenient, would defeat a claim for an implied easement. An implied easement need not be memorialized in written form.

Easement by Necessity

An easement by necessity is similar to an implied easement, with two differences:

  • The owner without access to a public road doesn’t need to assert that the original owner of the property intended the easement to exist; and

  • The owner without access must prove that, in the absence of an easement, he cannot even build a private road that would access a public road from his property.

Easement by Prescription

Easements by prescription seem counterintuitive to many people. Such an easement is created when the claimant uses the property (typically by merely crossing it) in an “open, notorious, and continuous” manner for at least five years. The claimant's use must be hostile to the owner – that is, without the owner’s permission. In other words, if you allow someone to trespass on your property long enough, you could be inadvertently granting him an easement.

Contact CKB Vienna ASAP

You may be concerned that your property may be subject to an easement, you may need an easement over another party’s property, or you may be involved in a dispute concerning an easement. In any case, telephone CKB Vienna today or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our lawyers, so that we can discuss your case together.  

We serve clients in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Riverside County.

If you are concerned that your property may be subject to an easement, please don’t hesitate to call CKB Vienna today. Learn how we can help you!