An easement is a property interest in land that is owned by another person.  An easement bestows upon the owner of the easement the right to use or control some area of land, or the area above or below that land, for a specific limited person.  For example, an easement may allow a person to use a specifically defined strip of property that belongs to his or her neighbor in order to access a public road.

The land that benefits from an easement (such as the property of the person who uses the property of a neighbor to access his or her own benefiting property) is called a "dominant estate."  The land that is burdened by the easement (the property on which the easement exists) is known as a "servient estate."

An easement may exist for a specified, limited period of time, established by a legally-binding contract, or may last indefinitely or forever.  However, an easement is a limited property right only.  An easement does not give the holder of the easement the right to alter or to sell the land that is the subject of the easement.

The main types of easements of real property include:

·          A right-of-way

·          A right of entry for some purpose relating to the dominant estate

·          A right to the support of land and buildings, in which a property owner is entitled to prevent an owner of adjacent property from altering the adjacent property in such a way as to endanger the structural integrity of the easement holder´s property or structures thereon

·          A right to light and air

·          A right to water

·          A right to do some act that, but for the existence of the easement, would constitute a nuisance

·          A right to place or keep something on the land on the servient estate that is subject to the easement

Encroachments

            An encroachment is any infringement by one person or entity on the rights of a person or an entity on the rights of another person or entity.  In the context of real property, encroachment refers to the interference with or intrusion onto the property of another. 

Encroachment may occur when something from an adjacent property crosses, in whole or in part, the boundary line between properties.  The encroachment may be a fence, for example, that is constructed by a property owner beyond his or her own property line, or a house, garage, shed, or other building which is not constrained within the legal boundary lines of the property.

In most instances, the only way to accurately establish where legal property lines are located, and thus to determine whether or not the location of something constitutes an encroachment, is to consult existing survey records that lay out the boundaries of properties.  However, many properties do not have survey records in existence, and thus a property´s boundaries can be established only by having a professional survey done on a property.  Professional surveys can be expensive. 

A person who encroaches upon the property of another is subject to legal action by the victim of the encroachment.  The person on whose property the encroachment has occurred has legal grounds to sue the encroaching party and to force removal of the item that is encroaching, or to get compensation from the encroaching party in an amount equal to what the injured party has lost in terms of reduced property area.  In many instances, particularly if the encroachment is minimal, no lawsuit will result.  In fact, often times, the encroachment is so minor that neither party will be aware of it or even suspect an encroachment to the point of necessitating a survey of boundary lines.

However, problems may arise when an encroachment is more substantial.  A property owner pays for the purchase of the full property within its legal boundaries, and then pays taxes on the full property.  With a significant encroachment by another party, the property owner is expending money to cover a parcel of property that, while legally his or hers, is not being used or able to be used by him or her. 
GBrey

Note:Contact an attorney on all legal questions or legal issues. A real estate agent is not qualified to give legal advice or tax advice and is not licensed to give legal advice or tax advice.