Legal Definitions - implied easement by necessity

An implied easement by necessity is a legal right that allows a landowner to cross another person's property to access their own land, specifically when their property is "landlocked" and has no other reasonable way to reach a public road or utility. This right is not explicitly written down in a deed but is created by law under specific circumstances.

The law presumes that when a larger piece of land is divided and sold, and one of the resulting parcels becomes completely inaccessible, the original parties intended for the landlocked parcel to have a way out. This legal right is considered "implied" because it arises from the circumstances of the land division, not from an express agreement.

For an implied easement by necessity to be recognized, two main conditions must typically be met:

• Prior Unity of Ownership: Both the landlocked property and the property over which the easement is sought must have once been part of a single, larger parcel owned by the same person or entity.
• Necessity at Time of Severance: The need for access must have existed at the exact moment the larger property was divided, making one parcel landlocked. This usually means there was no other practical or legal way to access the landlocked parcel when it was separated from the original property.

Once established, this type of easement typically stays with the land, meaning it transfers to new owners of both the landlocked property (the "dominant estate") and the property it crosses (the "servient estate"). However, if the original sale agreement explicitly stated that no right of way would be granted, then an implied easement by necessity would not arise.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how an implied easement by necessity might arise:

• Residential Subdivision: Imagine a large piece of land owned by a developer. The developer subdivides it into several residential lots. One particular lot, Lot B, is located behind Lot A and has no direct frontage on any public street. The only way for the owner of Lot B to reach a public road is by driving across a portion of Lot A. If the developer sells Lot B to a buyer without explicitly granting an easement, the law would likely recognize an implied easement by necessity over Lot A. This is because both lots were once part of the developer's single property, and the necessity for access to Lot B arose when it was sold off, making it landlocked.

• Rural Family Estate Division: A family owns a vast rural estate with a single private road leading from the main highway to various parts of the property. Upon the death of the patriarch, the estate is divided among three children. One child, Sarah, inherits a beautiful wooded parcel deep within the estate, completely surrounded by the parcels inherited by her siblings, Mark and Emily. Sarah's parcel has no direct access to the public highway except by using the existing private road that now crosses Mark's and Emily's properties. Since the entire estate was once under single ownership, and Sarah's parcel became landlocked at the moment of division, she would likely have an implied easement by necessity to use the private road across her siblings' land to reach her property.

• Commercial Property Development: A manufacturing company owns a large industrial complex with several buildings and a private access road connecting them to a main highway. The company decides to sell off an older, interior warehouse building and the land it sits on to a smaller logistics firm. This warehouse parcel is entirely surrounded by the manufacturing company's remaining property and has no direct access to a public street. The only way for the logistics firm to get trucks in and out is by using the manufacturing company's private access road. Because both properties were originally part of the same industrial complex, and the necessity for access arose when the warehouse parcel was sold, an implied easement by necessity would likely be established, allowing the logistics firm to use the private road.