Understanding Easements

Before you purchase property you should know if there any easements on the property, where they are located and what restrictions are associated with them. An easement is a privilege acquired by a landowner for the benefit of their land over the land of another. It is the right to use another person's land for a stated purpose, An easement can be granted for any length of time. Here are three basic requirements to form an easement:

1) Two parcels of land must be affected.
2) The land must benefit, not just the landowner.
3) The boundaries must definable with some accuracy and there must be a granter and grantee.

A right-of-way is a type of easement that gives someone the right to travel across property owned by another person. An easement can benefit an individual or a business entity. Hydro, sewer and water are common examples of some right-of-ways. Another example of a right-of-way is if you decided to give your neighbour access to your private waterfront beach by allowing them exclusive use of a six foot strip of land down one side of your property.

Be aware that you cannot build a structure on an easement i.e. you would not be able to build a garage. Don't assume that because an easement is not currently being used that it will never be used. As long as an easement on title, there's always a possibility that the individual who benefits from it will decide to enforce it.