Easements 101: Understanding Non-Possessory Interests In Land

When the topic of property rights gets brought up, most people think of ownership and the ability to possess, use, and enjoy land. But the law also recognizes a category of non-possessory interests, where one party has limited rights to use another’s land without owning it. The most common non-possessory rights are called easements.

What Is an Easement?

An easement is a legal right attached to land that allows someone to use another person’s property for a specific purpose. Many easements are commonly referred to as “rights of way”, with a common example often being an easement over your neighbour’s property to access your own.

Easements come in two forms:

• Easements appurtenant: benefits a specific parcel of land (the dominant tenement) and burden another parcel (the servient tenement).