What Is an Easement?
An easement is a legal right to use another person's land for a specific purpose, without owning it. Easements can be created expressly by a recorded document, implied by the circumstances of a property's use, granted by necessity when a parcel is otherwise landlocked, or established through years of open and continuous use under a prescriptive easement theory.
RV Litigation Group PC represents clients in San Jose, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Oakland, and throughout Santa Clara County and San Francisco County.
What the Law Says
Civil Code 1007 — Prescriptive Use
"Occupancy for the period prescribed by the Code of Civil Procedure as sufficient to bar any action for the recovery of the property confers a title thereto..." — California Civil Code Section 1007
A prescriptive easement can be established through five years of open, continuous, and hostile use of another's land for a specific purpose — such as a driveway or path — without the owner's permission. Unlike adverse possession, a prescriptive easement claim does not require payment of property taxes.
Easements by Necessity
"" —
When a property has no legal access to a public road except across a neighboring parcel, California law can imply an easement by necessity, particularly where the properties were once under common ownership and later divided in a way that landlocked one parcel.
Real-World Examples
Two neighbors share a driveway easement recorded decades earlier. One owner installs a gate restricting the other's access. Counsel seeks injunctive relief to restore access under the terms of the recorded easement.
A property owner claims a neighbor is using a utility easement for vehicle parking beyond its intended purpose. Counsel reviews the easement's recorded language to determine its permitted scope and seeks to enforce those limits.
A property owner discovers his parcel has no recorded legal access to the public road after a neighboring owner blocks a previously used path. Counsel pursues an easement by necessity claim based on the parcels' shared history under common ownership.
What's at Stake
| Type of Easement | How Created | Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Express Easement | Recorded deed or written agreement | Written instrument defines scope |
| Prescriptive Easement | Civil Code 1007 | 5 years open, continuous, hostile use |
| Easement by Necessity | Case law / implied by circumstances | Landlocked parcel, common ownership history |
How We Help
1. Title and Easement Review
We review recorded easements, deeds, and historical use to determine the scope and validity of an easement claim.
2. Access Restoration
When an easement holder's access is being blocked, we seek injunctive relief to restore access while the dispute is resolved.
3. Scope Enforcement
We enforce the specific terms of recorded easements when a neighboring owner exceeds the permitted use.
4. Prescriptive and Necessity Claims
We pursue and defend against prescriptive easement and easement-by-necessity claims based on historical use and property circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a recorded express easement, no — the property owner cannot lawfully block your access. If your use has been informal, you may have grounds to establish a prescriptive easement based on years of open, continuous use, though this requires a court determination.
An easement grants a right to use land for a specific purpose without owning it. Adverse possession can result in obtaining full ownership of the land, but requires the additional element of having paid property taxes on the disputed area for the statutory period.
Express easements should be recorded to provide notice to future property owners and to be clearly enforceable. Prescriptive and implied easements can be valid even without a recorded document, but proving them typically requires a court proceeding.
If your parcel is landlocked, you may have a claim for an easement by necessity, particularly if your property was once part of a larger parcel that included access before being divided. This is a fact-intensive claim that generally requires litigation to establish.
