Easements can affect how real property owners use and access their holdings. In some cases, easements can even impact the value of a specific parcel. Formal easements are often verifiable using the records maintained by the county recorder’s office. The state maintains records of any legitimate claims to the property, including the easement rights of outside parties.
Property owners concerned about who might access their property or how easements affect property resale values may have an interest in eliminating or extinguishing an easement. What circumstances may lead to the termination of easement rights?
Abandonment
Easements often provide specific rights to neighbors, relatives or businesses. In scenarios where one party has failed to make use of their easement rights for many years, the owner of the property could ask to extinguish the easement. They can assert that the holder of the easement has effectively abandoned it by failing to make use of it for some time.
The expiration of the easement
Some easements technically end on their own. In scenarios where people may have provided easements related to access to family members or neighbors, the easement may actually include a termination date. Unless the parties reach an agreement to extend the easement, it may terminate on its own in accordance with the details of the initial agreement.
Property mergers
Many easements exist to allow one party to access their property via another parcel. A landowner with road frontage may need to grant an easement to someone who buys the parcel behind theirs. They can eliminate the easement by acquiring the other property and merging the two parcels.
A formal release
In some cases, the party that holds the easement may agree to release the easement. They may sign a document agreeing that the easement is no longer necessary. Executing the right documents may allow a property owner to update title records to remove an existing easement. There are other scenarios, including the impossibility of utilizing the easement or adverse use, that may warrant the extinguishment of an easement.
Property owners hoping to address an easement may need help reviewing their circumstances to see if they qualify for extinguishment, and that’s okay. Real estate litigation is sometimes necessary in scenarios where there is conflict related to an easement that a property owner hopes to extinguish.
