Easement
An easement grants someone the right to use another’s property for a specific purpose. Learn about utility, access, and shared driveway easements.
Definition
An easement is a legal right allowing one party to use another person’s land for a specific and limited purpose. Common examples include utility easements, which allow power or water companies to install and maintain lines; access easements, which grant a neighbor the right to cross property for ingress and egress; and conservation easements, which restrict development to protect natural resources. Easements run with the land, meaning they remain in effect when ownership changes. They are recorded with the property’s title and can affect property value and development potential. Buyers should review easements during due diligence to understand their rights and obligations.
Why It Matters
An easement survives the sale. Whoever buys the house inherits the neighbor's right to drive across the driveway or the utility's right to dig up the side yard, and no amount of negotiating at closing changes that. Buyers who skip the title report find out after they own it, usually when they try to build a fence or a garage on ground someone else has a recorded right to use.
Examples
A Bellingham buyer plans a detached garage on the north side of the lot, then finds a recorded 15-foot access easement running exactly through it for the property behind.
Two neighbors share a gravel drive under a 1978 access easement. Neither has maintained it in years, and the easement document says nothing about who pays for grading.
A conservation easement on 6 acres near Bellingham caps development at one residence, which the seller's listing described only as a quiet rural setting.
Tips
Read the exceptions section of the preliminary title report, not just the first page. Easements are listed there by recording number, and you can pull the actual document from the county recorder for a few dollars.
Ask whether the easement is exclusive. A shared driveway easement with no maintenance agreement is the most common source of neighbor disputes in older Washington subdivisions.
If you are selling and know an easement limits building, disclose it on Form 17 rather than letting the buyer find it in escrow. Late discoveries kill more deals than the easement itself would have.
Related Terms
Utility Easement
A utility easement allows service providers to access land for infrastructure. Learn how utility eas...
Encumbrance
An encumbrance is a claim or limitation on property rights. Understand how liens, easements, and res...
Usufruct
Usufruct grants the right to use and profit from another’s property without ownership. Learn how usu...
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