Easement

What it means

An easement is a right over another party’s property: the owner has to tolerate something, such as a right of way or a utility line, refrain from something, or do something for the holder. The burden runs with the property and binds every later owner, while the right itself belongs either to the owner of another property or to a named person.

It differs from a lien in purpose: it secures no debt, it gives someone a lasting benefit from land they do not own. The Civil Code governs it, and an easement created by contract arises only on registration in the land register.

Not every easement arises from a contract. Some arise directly from the law, typically in favour of operators of electricity, gas or water networks, and they may not show on the title sheet at all. Their existence then follows from the actual state of the land, which pre-purchase due diligence should pick up.

How it works in practice

When property is bought, encumbrances are read from section C of the title deed. A life right of residence or a right of way across the yard cuts both the price and what the land can be used for, and a bank may refuse such a property as security.

An easement acquired for consideration is, as a rule, not a one-off expense: it is a valuable right, carried within intangible fixed assets and amortised. For the burdened owner the payment received is taxable income instead.

When a company builds a hall and the utility connection has to cross the neighbouring plot, the easement is agreed before the building permit procedure, because the authority wants to see a right to the land. A lawyer and a surveyor prepare the contract with the survey plan and the registration application, and we assess how the payment is booked and placed in the depreciation plan.

What to watch out for

Buyers read the title deed but not the pending entries noted on it. An easement registered the day after the viewing binds the new owner as well, and removing it takes either the holder’s agreement or a court ruling on changed circumstances, which means years of litigation and an expert valuation on top.

A company sells part of its land and forgets, before the sale, to reserve a right of way or for utility lines across the part sold. The remaining land is then left without access or connection, and the easement has to be negotiated afterwards with the new owner, who prices it according to how badly the seller needs it.