Easement
An easement is the right to use the land of another for a particular purpose. It may exist in any portion of the real estate, including the airspace above or a right-of-way across the land.
Dominant Tenement and Servient Tenement
An easement appurtenant is attached to the ownership of real estate and allows the owner of that property the use of a neighbor’s land. For an easement appurtenant to exist, two adjacent parcels of land must be owned by two different parties.
- The parcel that benefits from the easement is known as the dominant tenement;
- the parcel over which the easement runs is known as the servient tenement. (See Figure)
An easement appurtenant is part of the dominant tenement. If the dominant tenement is conveyed to another party, the easement transfers with the title. This type of easement will run with the land. It is an encumbrance on the servient property and will transfer with the dominant tenement forever, unless the holder of the dominant tenement legally releases the right or it is terminated in one of the ways that are discussed later in this section. The easement will terminate, for instance, if the owner of the dominant tenement also becomes the owner of the servient tenement (or vice versa). Because the same person then owns both properties, there is no need for the easement to exist.
Easement in Gross
An easement in gross is an individual or company interest in or right to use someone else’s land. (See Figure) A railroad’s right-of-way is an easement in gross, as are the rights-of-way of utility easements (such as for a pipeline or power line).
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