Neighbor Claims Easement By Necessity and Implied Easement Michael T. Sawyier
Q.
A neighbor claims he has a easement by necessity and implied easement on my property. I never owned the property next door. I have owned my property for over 30 years. How can he claim this?
-- Anonymous
A.
An easement by necessity is created automatically by law when a portion of the parcel is needed for use by an adjacent property owner, such as an easement connecting a landlocked parcel of land to a road. An implied easement is created automatically by law when an owner of two parcels of land uses one of the parcels to benefit the other parcel, and upon the sale of the parcel being benefited, the buyer would reasonably assume that the use of the property that was not sold would continue.
If you have owned the property for thirty years and have not owned the other property, then an implied easement is not viable. However, if the other property is landlocked and has no access to a road, then an easement by necessity may be created.
