Generally defined, when it comes to easements in the sense of commercial real estate law, these are designed to either access specific land or offer a right of use or “right of way” for a specific reason. In other words, it’s a type of permission grant that is given to the easement holder; however, it’s important to note that an easement is not legally considered to be ownership interest.
Typically, there are three different forms of easements that are offered, with each type not only depending on the specific reason that the easement itself is needed, but also which specific property will benefit from the easement as well. For example, a commercial easement is designed to offer a legal right between two different property owners in terms of land that is to be utilized for various functions that are related to business. Additionally, this same form of easement can also help to serve multiple purposes and offer different types of benefits, such as permitting company trucks to be able to travel across the property of a different business so that they will be able to deliver various products and goods, as well as permitting a commercial entity to utilize electrical wiring through one area so that electricity can be accessed there.
In terms of the overall nature of commercial easement rights, this is something that generally isn’t very clear, and as a result, disputes involving easements can and usually do often arise. These disputes will typically result in major negative outcomes for the holders of the easement, the owners of a property, or even both. Thanks to this, the parties involved in the dispute typically must take some form of legal action in order to properly resolve the issues, as well as make sure that all of their interests and rights are fully protected.
When it comes to commercial easements themselves, these are often created by a process known as deed conveyance, meaning that they are considered to be contracts that are legally binding between a property owner and a separate party that may be interested in partially using the property owner’s land. In the event that a dispute were to arise, there are specific actions that can be taken in order to obtain an acceptable resolution; however, it’s important to note that this depends solely on the overall specifics involving a case.
There are three main types of easements that are often utilized in terms of commercial real estate. The first is Easement in Gross, which is one that involves only property. This is a type of easement that does not either address or consider all of the rights of a property owner. Disputes involving these easements can come in many different forms, such as a property’s title insurer having to pay an undisclosed amount of money in order to address the decreased value of a specific property as a result of the easement itself.
The second main type of easement is the Easement Appurtenant. This is an easement that permits an involved party to use a specific property in order to access another. Disputes involving this type of easement can involve having to deal with an area of land that does not have any form of public access that could otherwise be required for providing access to another property.
The third main type of easement is the Prescriptive Easement. This is an easement that can come into play in the event of one involved party freely utilizing part of another party’s property, but not obtaining prior permission to do so beforehand. One type of dispute that can arise as a result of this specific type of easement could involve a rural land owner not taking into account that a portion of their own land is being utilized by another party without their prior permission first being obtained.