Land Registry Education and Training Group: easements

Easements: what is an easement?


			Chapters Introduction What is an easement? Acquisition of easements Overriding interests Protection of easements First registration Leasehold estates Easements in charges Developing estates Licences Extinguishment

Introduction

An easement is a type of right which one person has over the land of another. Easements can be either legal or equitable. Legal easements are legal interests under s1(2)(a) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925).

A right can only be an easement if certain criteria are satisfied, otherwise it will remain as a mere right. A public right or way cannot be an easement.

Characteristics of an easement

There are four essential characteristics of an easement which were laid down in the leading case Re Ellenborough Park [1956]. All four characteristics must be present if a right is to be an easement. The characteristics are as follows:

1. There must be a dominant and servient tenement.
2. The easement must accommodate the dominant tenement.
3. The dominant and servient tenements must be owned or occupied by different persons.
4. The easement must be capable of forming the subject-matter of a grant.

The next page examines characteristic number one in detail.

Visit www.landregistry.gov.uk for more details.