How to Draft Easements

What is an easement? The classical definition of an easement is “a nonpossessory interest in the land of another that entitles the holder to use the land for a particular purpose.” Most easement agreements create relationships that the parties want to last indefinitely, i.e., forever, or until the easement itself becomes obsolete a century or two later. Keep in mind when you draft an easement agreement that a hundred years later the owners of the properties tied to the agreement may dispute what it means, when the original parties will not be available to explain what they meant.

Table of Contents

1. What Is an Easement?
2. Basic Easement Theory
3. Easements in Gross
4. General Drafting Principles for Appurtenant Easements
5. Driveway and Access Easements
6. Appurtenant Utility Easements
7. Party Walls and Fences
8. View Easements
9. Encroachment Easements
10. Relocation Rights and Wrongs
11. Ten Ways to Misdraft Your Easement Agreement