Casa Academy

Reviewed by Casa Academy and updated July 29, 2026 using the current DBPR checklist and Pearson VUE scheduling guidance.

Easement

An easement is a nonpossessory interest that gives a person or entity the right to use another owner's land for a specific purpose, such as access, utilities, or drainage, without owning the underlying fee title.

Exam context

Select easement answers when the question describes a right to cross, pipe, or drain across another's land without fee ownership. Contrast with licenses, which are revocable personal privileges, and with fee simple ownership of the same strip.

Types and creation

Express easements are written in deeds or separate instruments. Implied easements arise from prior use or subdivision patterns. Easements by necessity help landlocked parcels. Prescriptive easements may form after open, hostile, continuous use for the statutory period. Each type has different proof requirements on exams.

Scope and maintenance

Easements are limited to the stated purpose and reasonable location. The holder maintains the easement area unless the document says otherwise. Overburdening the servient estate or abandoning use for the statutory period may terminate the easement.

Examples

  • Utility corridor

    A recorded 20-foot electric easement lets a utility maintain poles across a ranch. The ranch owner retains fee title but may not build structures that block line maintenance.

  • Pedestrian access

    A beachfront community grants lot owners an easement along a private path to the shore. Each benefited lot holds an appurtenant easement over the servient path parcel.

Keep studying

Practice easement questionsEnroll in pre-licensing

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