Easement Flashcards
What does ‘profit à prendre’ refer to?
A right to take away something capable of ownership from another person’s land
Examples include cutting grass, taking firewood, or extracting minerals.
How can profits à prendre be acquired?
By express grant, implied grant, or presumed grant (prescription)
Define ‘easement’.
A grant of an interest in land allowing a person to use land possessed by another.
What are the two types of easements?
- Affirmative easement
- Negative easement
What does the owner of an affirmative easement have the right to do?
Go on the land of another and perform certain acts on that land.
What is a negative easement?
An easement that allows the owner to prevent the owner of the servient land from performing certain acts.
What four types of easements did early English common law recognize?
- Light
- Lateral support
- Air
- Free flow of natural water
True or False: The list of easements is closed and cannot expand with changes in circumstances.
False
What are the conditions for a right to be capable of being an easement?
- There must be a dominant and servient tenement
- The right must accommodate the dominant tenement
- The right must lie in grant
- The right must be against the land of another
What is the dominant tenement?
The land that benefits from the easement.
What is the servient tenement?
The land burdened by the easement.
What must the right do to accommodate the dominant tenement?
It must improve the facilities of the dominant tenement.
Can the dominant and servient tenements be owned by the same person?
No, they must not be both owned and occupied by the same person.
What does ‘lie in grant’ mean regarding easements?
All easements must be capable of being granted by a grantor to a grantee.
In the case of Copeland v Greenhalf, what claim was held not to be capable of being an easement?
A claim to park an unlimited number of vehicles on another’s land.
How can an easement be acquired?
- By statute
- By express grant or reservation
- By implied grant or reservation
- By presumed grant (prescription)
What is an easement created by statute?
An easement created when statutes confer powers to public authorities to lay pipes or utilities.
What is required for an express grant or reservation of an easement?
It must be in writing and signed by the grantor.
What are the two types of implied easements?
- Apparent use existing at the time of separation
- Easement of necessity
What is an easement of necessity?
An easement required for access to the dominant tenement when there is no other way.
What does ‘presumed grant’ refer to?
A situation where the court presumes an easement was granted after long use without objection.
What is the time frame for a presumed grant to be conclusive?
Thirty years of uninterrupted use.
