Chapter 7 - Easements, Restrictions and Rights of Adjoining Owners

Question 1

What is an easement?

Answer 1

is a right one has in the land of another, giving the holder of the easement the right to do certain things on the owner’s land

Question 2

What is an easement appurtenant?

Answer 2

is a right acquired by the owner of one parcel of land to use an adjacent parcel of land for a special purpose

Question 3

What is a servient premise?

Answer 3

the tract burdened by the easement

Question 4

What is a dominant premise?

Answer 4

is the land receiving the benefit of the easement

Question 5

What does it mean when an easement appurtenant “runs with the land”?

Answer 5

meaning that it is not revocable and will be automatically transferred to any subsequent purchaser even though it might not be stated in the deed

Question 6

What is an easement in gross?

Answer 6

an easement in gross does not benefit a particular parcel. Thus, there is no dominant premises, only a servient one. Examples are a railroad easement, or an easement given to a telephone company or utility company to install and maintain poles and wires

Question 7

What is an affirmative easement?

Answer 7

is one in which the owner of the dominant premises can use the servient premises

Question 8

What is an express grant or reservation?

Answer 8

often an owner will sell only part of his land, such as the portion fronting on the street, and reserve in the deed an easement in the portion retained. One of the most common means of creating an easement. Must contain the essential elements of any conveyance of land – names of grantor and grantee, operative words of conveyance, legal description of the servient premises, nature of the easement and means of ingress and egress. Ingress can refer to both the act of entering or to an entryway (an entrance) itself. Egress refers to both the act of exiting or to an exit itself.

Question 9

What is an implied grand or reservation?

Answer 9

an easement may be created after a transaction because a court would consider that the owner intended to create one, even though he failed to mention it. Must include certain conditions: (1) discovered by reasonable inspection of premises, (2) two parcels owned by one party, (3) easement must be necessary, (4) prior use must have been continuous

Question 10

What is a plat?

Answer 10

is a map on file at the recording office showing the boundaries and location of individual properties within a development

Question 11

What is a dedication?

Answer 11

when an owner transfer complete ownership of the streets to a community as a gift

Question 12

What is a prescription?

Answer 12

an easement by prescription arises when a person makes use of another’s land for extensive period of time (30-60 years in NJ). Must be done similar if they were claiming title by adverse possession: (1) use must be adverse aka without consent, (2) continuous, (3) uninterrupted, (4) and visible, open and notorious

Question 13

What is condemnation?

Answer 13

is the taking of private property for public use with compensation to the owner under eminent domain

Question 14

What is necessity?

Answer 14

when a grantor conveys a part of his land that is entirely surrounded by his remaining lands, thus leaving the grantee landlocked, and there is no outlet to a highway except over his remaining land, a right of way by necessity is created by implied grant over the remaining land of the seller

Question 15

What is subsidence?

Answer 15

is the lowering of the land-surface elevation from changes that take place underground

Question 16

What are party walls?

Answer 16

where adjoining property owners each have buildings that abut the common boundary line, they may agree to use the same wall for both of their buildings – can apply to driveways too.