Is An Easement Legally Binding?

An easement is a legally binding contract that gives one party the right to use another party’s land or property in a limited way. An easement allows the owner of the servient estate home, farm, and business to maintain control over the property and its use.

The owner of the dominant estate road, utility company agrees not to interfere with certain aspects of that use. Easements are created in two ways: by deed or by operation of law. Easement by deed is created when the owner of a property gives a written or recorded certificate of easement to the owner of another property.

In contrast, an easement created by operation of law occurs when there is no deed. An example of this is a common-law easement for light and air. The creation of such an easement comes about because it is necessary for the use and enjoyment of land.

What Does A Utility Easement Mean?

A utility easement is an easement for the purpose of providing utility services. The most common utilities include water, electricity, and natural gas. Utility easements are typically found in various urban areas where such utilities are a necessity.

Land developers often build the utilities onto their property or will find a way to bring them to their newly erected buildings to ensure that they can be used by the tenants and owners of those properties.

An easement for utility service can be created by deed or by operation of law. In an easement created by deed, a landowner gives another party permission to use the property’s land in the way it has described in its deed.

 For example, when a land developer purchases a piece of property, it typically purchases an easement to run utility services through the property to ensure that they can be used once the building has been built.

Does A Drainage Easement Affect Property Value?

Draining Easement is a right of passage and ownership to be able to divert surface water (rain, snowmelt and surface runoff) into another location by means of an engineered system.

The property owner may not rely upon an unproven drainage easement to divert surface water beyond the lot line of the property where they own that property. If they rely upon an engineered easement and are found to have done so, they will lose the benefit of any additional surface water that drains onto their lot.

This can affect the property valuation because of the benefits the land owner will get. A drainage easement is created when a property owner puts into writing that they are going to construct an easement for the purpose of constructing and maintaining an improvement on their property.

Such an improvement would include a sidewalk, driveway or a retaining wall. The landowner who creates such an easement can make it so that the improvements will not affect the adjacent property owners’ use of their land.

How Wide Is A Utility Easement In Texas?

In Texas, the width of utility easements may vary depending on the utility type being serviced. In order to create a utility easement, such as for water, electricity, or natural gas, the property owner must make sure that they have obtained permission from all affected owners.

 If they do not obtain permission from those owners before they put utilities into the easement including reinforcements and containment features then their easement will be considered too narrow and therefore worthless.

However, if the easement is too narrow it will not be able to accommodate the utility company’s requirements and therefore, it will not be of any use.

How Do I Get An Easement From My Neighbor?               

The first thing you need to do is decide what you want as an easement. For example limited easements, such as one that allows access only during daylight or, do you have something building-wide in mind, such as installation of a sewer line or conduit?

You can also ask for permission to place fences and walls around the property; a fence that might serve as a barrier to keep your children or pets from wandering; or a wall that you would use as a display area.

When it comes to getting permission from your neighbor, the first step is to go to them and see if they are willing to allow what you want.

You might need someone else there with you the first time, such as an attorney or your real estate agent can help. If they seem agreeable, try to get it in writing before any work begins so there are no questions later on.

How Do You Value An Easement?

The fair market value of an easement is determined by how much the easement is worth to the grantee that is the person who receives or holds the right to use that property and how much it is worth to the grantor that is the person who gives or sells that right.

Typically, if you were to sell your land and an easement was included in your deed then you would get more money for your property.

To determine the fair market value of an easement, several factors must be considered; the easement’s location, the easement; the value, the consideration for which it is worth; and the expected future revenue generated from it.

The work that goes into a thorough analysis of an easement is extensive and requires both geotechnical and engineering expertise. If you are dealing with a very complicated issue, such as building a retaining wall to create a water well, you might want to consult with experts in that field before you make any moves.

What Is An Easement By Necessity And How Does It Differ From A Prescriptive Easement?

An easement by necessity is an easement that is created by a contract and requires the grantor to provide utility service to the easement from their property. The grantee does not need his termination rights under a contractual easement.

Like a prescriptive easement, an easement by necessity can be created by deed or by operation of law, but in Texas exists only through operation of law; thus, adverse use only.

In order to create an easement by necessity, the utility must be considered necessary and the utility provider must be able to prove that they do not have any other reasonable alternative but to access the property through the adjacent property owner’s land.

Such easements are difficult because they are considered a burden on the servient estate. If a court decides that the servient estate owner is being burdened then it will allow for that easement to be extinguished.

Prescriptive easement is the right of one person to claim a benefit from the servient estate, such as a limited easement for water of another. The prescriptive easement is created by operation of law and confined to use solely on the property in which it was originally granted and can be extinguished by an adverse use or taking of that easement.

Is It Bad To Have A Drainage Easement On Your Property?

Drainage easements can be good or bad depending on the situation; they are not necessarily good because they are created to address negative issues with the property.

Just like you would consider a neighborhood easement where the neighbors agree that they will not build a structure that is higher than 4 feet above ground level so as not to cause and issues with runoff on your property.

 You may want to consider installing a drainage easement if you know there is going to be an issue with water on your property; in this case drainage is used.

In general, drainage easements are helpful and beneficial because they are created to prevent the negative impacts that flow from flooding or water runoff from seeping into your property.

However, you may want to consider having a building spillover drain installed so that water can be directed away from the building and not on to your property.

Others would say that it is not a good idea to have one, because the basement – where most of the water goes – could flood out, and damage your belongings.

What Is A Public Utility Easement California?

A public utility easement is a type of easement that is created through operation of law and generally can be only be used for public utility purposes, such as electric, water or gas. In California, the servitude created by such an easement is known as a public utility easement.

The exact relationship between the owner of an easement and the servient estate has been upheld by court rulings and state statutes; however, the general concept remains that an easement may only be used for public utilities; however, in some cases there are limited exceptions.

The purpose of the public utility easement is to ensure that a water or electric power company has a way to access the property and provide their service; however, it can be used when a public utility wants to lay pipes or wires through an adjoining property.

For example, if gas pipes are going through your property but they need to use another section of land that is not owned by either one of you, then they would have to get an easement from you in order to access it.

What Is The Standard Width Of An Easement?

An easement is a right of way that belongs to another person and must be a certain width in order to protect the owner of that easement.

The width requirements depend on which type of easement is in question. For example, if you have an air or a public utility easement, it must be 25 feet wide; whereas, if you have a road, water, or drainage, it must be 20 feet wide.