Easements Flashcards
What is an easement
Right of land owner to make use of land for benefit of their own land
Re ellenbourgh park 4 criteria for easements
Must be dominant and servient land
Must accommodate dominant land
Cannot both be owned and occupied by same person
Capable of forming grant
Can an easement or profit exist in gross
Profit can but easement cannot
Meaning of ‘exist in gross’
Where only servient tenement is identified without any dominant land
Criteria for being capable of forming a grant
Precise
Capable Grantor
No expenditure by grantee
Not too excessive - not possession
Meaning of accommodating dominant land
Right is connected to normal enjoyment of the land
Do the dominant and servient lands need to be connected
No but need to be close enough
Can be a parcel of land between them
Is it necessary for an easement to benefit the land
Yes the easement must benefit the land not just the owner eg increase value of land
What is the principle of diversity
Dominent and servient land cannot be owned and occupied by same person
You cannot have an easement over your own Land
What are quasi easement
An easement but when land is owned by same person
Is there a general right to light
No but can have easement if there is a defined appature to extent needed for comfortable enjoyment of building
Can you have an easement for views
No
Can you have an easement that requires expenditure or positive obligation on part of servient owner
No but exception is to maintain boundary fence
What is a positive easement
Allows dominant owner to do something
What is a negative easement
Prevents servient owner from doing something
What negative easements are recognised at law
Air light and support
Main rule regarding easement of support
Servient owner cannot deliberately withdraw support
Methods by which easements are created
Express grant or reservation Necessity Common intention Wheeldon v burrows S62 LPA Prescription
Requirements to create an easement through express grant
Execute deed
Knowingly and deliberately
Requirements to create easement using express reservation
Seller reserves rights over land they’re selling
Retained land is dominent land. Sold land is servient land
Requirements to create an easement implied by common intention
Applies to grants and reservations
Land conveyed for purpose known to grantor and easement is essential for purpose
Requirements for easement to be implied by necessity
Applies to grants and reservations
Land locked land which cannot be used without easement
Requirements to create an easement using wheeldon v burrows
Only applies to grants not reservations
Only to grant in favour of buyer, not seller
Coverts quasi easements into easements when land is sold
Conditions:
Right must be continuous and apparent
Right must be necessary to reasonable enjoyment of land sold
Right must be in use at time of sale
Meaning of continuous and apparent
Habitual enjoyment
Obvious on inspect of land by person familiar with subject eg surveyor
