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What is a negative easement?

On Behalf of | Dec 18, 2015 | Real Estate Disputes |

There is a great deal of variation among different easements. For one, not all easements involve a person having a right to a certain use on property owned by someone else. Negative easements do something quite different.

A negative easement is a type of easement in which, rather than a special use right being granted in relation to a property, a restriction is put on a property. In such an easement, a property owner promises not to do certain things on their property. Examples of restrictions that can be placed on a property in a negative easement include restrictions on building things that would obstruct certain views or restrictions on structure height.

As this illustrates, there are many different things easements can be set up to do. Given how diverse of a legal mechanism easements are, the range of different types of easement disputes and different ways easement disputes could come up is quite wide. 

Legal battles over easements can be very high stakes ones for property owners. This is because such disputes touch on what rights a person has regarding their own property or a neighboring/nearby property. These rights, in turn, can deeply impact what sort of benefits a property owner can get out of their property. 

Consequently, when a person is in an easement dispute, whether it be over a negative easement or the more standard type of easement (called an affirmative easement), they should consider consulting a real estate attorney who is very knowledgeable in easement law and who has a strong understanding of the issues particular to easement disputes. 

Source: FindLaw, “Affirmative and Negative Easements,” Accessed Dec. 18, 2015

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