Easement-Meaning & Essentials of Easement

Meaning of easement

A person having the right to enjoy his property over the land of another person for a specific purpose, that right is called easement right. The title of that property remains continuous with the real owner of that property.

In simple words when we talk about the easement, it is the right of an owner or possessor of the property to enjoy his property with the help of another person’s property.

What is an Easement?

Section 4 of the easement act defines the easement as “it is a right where the occupies or the owner of certain property or land possessed, as such, for the enjoyment of his land, to do or continue to do something, or to prevent or continually preventing something being done; in or upon the other land, not his land is an [Easement].”

Example: A has the property at the roadside and B is his neighbour who has the property beside the property of A. B has to go between the A”s property if he wants to go for his work and come back to his house by that road. Now, it is the [Easement] right of B to go by A’s property.

Terms used under easement

There are some legal terms which are used under the [Easement] which are as follow:

Dominant heritage

The land or property for the enjoyment of which the right exists is known as Dominant heritage.

Dominant owner

The person who holds the land or dominant heritage is called the dominant owner.

Servient heritage

The property or land on which the liability is imposed is called the heritage.

Servient owner

The owner of the servient heritage is known as the servient owner and it is his property where the right of a [Easement] will be used.

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Essentials of easement

There are mainly four essentials of Easement.

Dominant and Servient Heritage

There should be two properties to enjoy the right of [Easement]. Because it is the right exercised by one person in the property of another person that’s why both dominant and servient heritage cannot be one.

Separate owners

There must be the two owners of the properties for the enjoyment of [Easement] right. There will be no [Easement] if the property belongs to the same owner.

Beneficial enjoyment of property

There should be the enjoyment of the property. The dominant owner can enjoy express or implied enjoyment.

Positive or negative

The right of the easement can be both ways ie, negative as well as positive. In the positive [Easement], the dominant owner enjoys his right to do something but in the negative right, the dominant owner prevents the servient owner to do something.

Modes of Acquisition of Easements

The right of the [Easement] can be acquired in two ways:

• Express Grant
• Implied Circumstances

Express Grant

The right of the [Easement] can be granted by the expressway such as the [Easement] can be given by inserting the clause of [Easement] in the agreement, contract or deed signed where the granter expressly clears that he is giving the [Easement] right to the person.

Implied circumstances

There are various ways to acquire the [Easement] from an implied circumstance which are:

Easement of necessity

[Easement] of necessity is that where the person cannot use his land without exercising his right of [Easement] from the property of another person.

Meaning of Easement & its Essentials

For example, A sells his land to B for agriculture the field. But the B is unable to enjoy his right without exercising the right of [Easement] from Z’s property. it is the [Easement] of necessity.

Quasi easement

This [Easement] arises when both sides of land are owned by a sole person. Then the landowner sells one of the sides of his land. The person who will take that side shall have the right to enjoy the [Easement] from the other side of that property if needed.

Prescriptive easements

This [Easement] occurs when someone acquires easement over another’s property for a specific purpose. It is different from [Easement] by necessity as the person acquiring the [Easement] only uses the property for a specific period.

Duration of an Easement

Normally, if the [Easement] is not specifically defined in the agreement, then the court can assume that it is given for an indefinite time. But if the right of [Easement] is written under the agreement then it will end on the specific date given under the agreement, though the person can ask to extend the duration of the [Easement].