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# Various types of easements made easy
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/various-types-of-easements-made-easy/
- Published: 2006-04-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T23:53:04.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By JODI SUMMERS*

We recently put a 30,000-square-foot industrial property in Inglewood into escrow — one of the disclosures on this sale was that the driveway, which is shared with a neighbor, is an easement-by-per-scription. While the property was listed, it became obvious that the property buying public had a lot of questions and apprehensions about buying a property with an easement — so we thought it was a good time to enlighten everyone about easements.

WHAT IS AN EASEMENT? An easement can be defined as “the legal right to use part of a real estate owner’s property.” Examples can include driveways, alleys, sidewalks, paths and even the yard of a neighbor’s property.

Virtually all properties have easements. Most easements are obtained by permission — many property owners have a utility easement on their property — above or below ground — for power lines, phone lines, TV cable, water pipes, sewer lines and gas lines. Utility easements are part of the joy of being a property-owning citizen. And government and big business have arranged it so these easements are usually obtained without payment to the property owner — your compensation is having the utility service on your property.

Hostile easements are obtained without permission of the property owner. Let’s say your neighbor drives over a section of your property to access his property — even though they are able to access the property through different means. You tell him time and again to stop driving over your land but he doesn’t listen. This happens for years without you taking any definitive action to stop your neighbor from accessing his property through yours. Eventually he will acquire a permanent prescriptive easement over your land, according to state law. California only requires five years of open, notorious and continuous use to obtain a prescriptive or hostile easement. By comparison, in Texas it takes 30 years.

Recorded easements, such as the shared driveway of our 30,000-square-foot industrial property, can be found on the public records for the property.

An easement by necessity is what you need to reach a landlocked parcel. A lawsuit is usually required to obtain such an easement. Once the court approves an easement by necessity, it becomes an easement appurtenant. Head spinning? Ha! We’re just getting started. Read on for the details on easements.

THE BASIC TYPES OF EASEMENTS Easements in gross: They affect most properties. Easements in gross are for the benefit of creating sidewalks and putting in utilities. Virtually every property is subject to an easement in gross. These easements should be recorded in the public records.

“Underground easements in gross are a different matter, especially for water and sewer lines. To avoid unexpected surprises, property buyers should always obtain an owner’s title insurance policy at the time of property purchase,” says noted real estate columnist Bob Bruss. “Then, if an undisclosed underground easement is later discovered, the title insurer is liable for the diminished value of the property or the cost of removal.”

Easements appurtenant: This easement benefits the adjoining property. A shared driveway or a landlocked parcel falls into this category. As property records will show, most easements appurtenant were created when an area was subdivided and recorded. Usually easements appurtenant have a “dominant tenement,” which benefits from the easement, and a “servient tenement,” the property owner who is burdened by the easement. To be legitimate, the easement appurtenant needs to be recorded against the title of the servient tenement. It also is usually recorded as part of the dominant tenement’s title.

Prescriptive easement: These easements are non-permissive and the least friendly. It arises when someone uses part of your property without permission, even after you insist that it stop. Think of the farmer with a shot gun — “Git off of my land you trespasser!”

The legal requirements to create a prescriptive easement are (a) open, (b) notorious, (c) hostile and (d) continuous use of part of another’s property without permission for the required number of years in the state where the property is located.

The official documentation for a prescriptive easement for a driveway may use language like the following, “the right to use, travel over, upon and along, and enjoy as and for a private roadway only, for all time …”

A recorded easement typically “runs with the land” meaning that all future owners of the property are subject to the easement. Payment of property taxes is not required to obtain a prescriptive easement. And prescriptive easements are not necessarily exclusive.

After the legal requirements are met, the way to make a permanent prescriptive easement is for the easement claimant to bring a quiet title lawsuit in court against the property owner. A local real estate attorney is obviously needed to help prove the required elements. Consult a real estate attorney for more details. (Jodi Summers is director of the investment division at Boardwalk Realty Santa Monica. Contact her at , or call 310-309-4219\. Visit her Web site at www.santamonica-landmarks.com.)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 12, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041206.pdf?ref=smdp.com)