An easement is a legal right to access or use someone else's land for a specific purpose. Since the 14th century, easements have been an essential tool for property owners. Let's explore the history and contemporary use cases for easements.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF EASEMENTS
Nothing has sustained its value since the beginning of civilization like land. In modern American society, land or property ownership is a pinnacle of success and indicative of the "American Dream." However, land ownership and all the legal implications stretch back to Roman Law. As the Romans expanded their empire, the need to access and protect a large land area created many opportunities for economic interactions and growth. For them, an easement or servitutes was a legal institution that gave a person the right to use or enjoy another's property, limiting the property owner's rights [1].
As the Roman population began to increase and concentrate in its cities and the empire began to experience an increase in urbanization, construction, and development, the need for a sophisticated socio-legal framework to maintain civil peace also increased [2]. Easements were a helpful tool that allowed individuals to travel between estates to access goods like public roads.
CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT OF EASEMENTS
Today, an easement is a limited right to use the land of another. Easements serve various public and private interests, such as granting your neighbor access to cross your property to reach a public beach or granting a local telecom company access to your property to install fiber internet.
It is common for property owners to have several types of utility infrastructure running through their land, including electric, gas, and telecommunications lines. If there is a problem, the utility company must access the line, therefore, accessing your private property.
At first glance, this may seem troublesome. Still, easements are practical and beneficial for receiving public services like water, electricity, or internet.
Easements are especially useful for telecom engineers like ATCO. Telecom engineers may need to access private property to manage copper or fiber lines.
Common types of easements we use in our industry include:
· Right-of-Way
· Building Entrance Agreements
· Anchor/Down Guy Easements
HOW WE CAN HELP
ATCO has a team of individuals who acquire easements for service projects, including residential, utility, commercial, government, telecom, and architecture. Our teams strive to deliver high-quality, locally relevant solutions for all projects.
Are you an electric company needing access to private property? Are you a homeowner that needs to repave a driveaway? Then you'll need an easement and ATCO has you covered.
REFERENCES
[1] Anavitarte, E. J. (2019). Easement in Roman Law _ Academialab. AcademiaLab. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://academia-lab.com/2019/04/24/easement-in-roman-law/
[2] Wright, W. L. (2018, July 15). Land law: The roman law of servitudes – genesis of easements. WWright Lawyer. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://wrightlawyer.com.au/blog/f/land-law-the-roman-law-of-servitudes-%E2%80%93-genesis-of-easements