Legal Definitions - landlocked

A parcel of land is considered landlocked if it is entirely surrounded by other private properties or public lands, without any direct, legal access to a public road or highway. This means that to reach the property, one must cross land owned by someone else.

Being landlocked can significantly reduce a property's value and usability because it complicates access for owners, emergency services, and utilities. Property owners often seek to establish a legal right-of-way, known as an easement, across a neighboring property to gain necessary access to a public road.

In a broader sense, a country is described as landlocked if it is entirely surrounded by other countries and has no direct coastline or access to major navigable oceans or seas.

Here are some examples illustrating the term:

• Residential Property: A family purchases a beautiful wooded lot that is situated behind several other homes. While the lot has scenic views, its boundaries are entirely shared with the backyards of these other properties, and it does not touch the public street at the front of the neighborhood.

  Explanation: This lot is landlocked because the family cannot drive directly from their property to the public road without crossing one of their neighbors' private properties. They would need to secure a legal easement, such as a driveway right-of-way, across one of the fronting properties to establish legal access.

• Commercial Development: A large shopping mall is planned for a city, and the developer acquires a central plot of land. However, this plot is completely encircled by existing commercial buildings and their parking lots, none of which are owned by the developer. The plot has no direct frontage on any public street or highway.

  Explanation: The central plot is landlocked because it lacks direct access to the public road network. For the mall to be built and accessible to customers and delivery vehicles, the developer would need to negotiate and obtain easements from one or more of the surrounding property owners to create an access road or entrance from a public street.

• Landlocked Country: The country of Bolivia is located in South America and shares borders with Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. It does not have any coast along the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans.

  Explanation: Bolivia is a landlocked country because its entire national border is shared with other nations, preventing it from having its own seaport or direct access to international maritime trade routes.