Servitudes Flashcards
What is a servitude?
Rights or restrictions that run with land ownership and bind or benefit others.
What are licenses?
- Permission to use land for a specific purpose
- Nontransferable
- Revocable at any time (unless holder reasonably relied and invested “estoppel”)
Define an easement.
- A nonpossessory right to do (affirmative) or to prevent (negative) something on another’s land without owning or possessing it.
What is an affirmative easement?
The right to do something on another’s land (e.g., cross it, park on it, lay utilities)
What is a negative easement?
The right to prevent someone from doing something on their land- elemental based (e.g., blocking sunlight, air, or view)
Who is the servient landowner?
Owns the land burdened by the easement; their property is ‘serving’ the benefit of another
What is an easement appurtenant?
Benefits the owner of the dominant estate and runs with the dominant estate. Requires 2 parcels
What is an easement in gross?
Benefits a person or company, not tied to any land; only the servient estate is involved
What is an express easement?
Created by deed or will; must satisfy Statute of Frauds
What is an easement by implication?
Implied easement by prior use
“CARE”
- Continuous use
- Apparent (discoverable upon reasonable inspection)
- Reasonably necessary (property still be usable, but significantly impractical)
- Existing use by owner before severance + common ownership of 2 parcels
no written agmt
What are the elements of easement by prescription?
Long-term, unauthorized use that the landowner failed to stop
Elements:
C.H.E.A.T
C Continuous
H Hostile/Adverse
E Exclusive
A Actual
T Told (Open & Notorious)
What is the doctrine of estoppel regarding easements?
Courts stop the landowner from revoking permission if reliance was costly and reasonable
List ways easements can be terminated.
MR. CAPEND
* Merger
* Release
* Condemnation
* Abandonment
* Prescription
* Estoppel
* Necessity
* Destruction of Servient Estate
What is a covenant?
A legally enforceable promise regarding land that ‘runs with the land’
What is an affirmative covenant?
Requires landowner to take action (e.g., payment/maintenance)
What is a negative covenant?
The right to prevent someone from doing something on land (e.g., ‘no commercial activity’)
What are the requirements for a covenant to ‘run with the land’?
(For Burden to Transfer)
WITHVN
Define horizontal privity.
A legal relationship between original covenanting parties at the time the covenant was made
Define vertical privity.
When a property interest is voluntarily transferred from one person to another (no adverse poss) and preserves the same legal interest
For Benefit to Transfer
What is required for a covenant to be enforceable against future owners?
“RUN WITH THE LAND”
WITV
What is an equitable servitude?
A restriction on land use that may be enforced in equity against subsequent owners “injunction”
What is the ruling in Tulk v. Moxhay?
When a purchaser buys land with notice of land use restriction, equity will enforce the restriction
What are the requirements for an implied equitable servitude?
Original agreement doesn’t need to be in writing.
* Common Grantor
* Common Scheme/General Plan
* Notice
What are CC&Rs in the context of HOAs?
Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions recorded at development stage with a strong presumption of validity
