Easements provide access to real property or to the resources contained on real property, such as water. Neighbors and utility companies are among the parties who may pursue or hold an easement.
Easements could allow a local electrical company to access supply lines and other infrastructure. They may grant neighbors the right to cross a property to access a landlocked parcel.
Easements can have a minor negative impact on owners by limiting their privacy and potentially impacting the fair market value of their real estate holdings. There are certain situations in which easements end or owners can seek to extinguish them, including mergers. What does that mean for the purposes of requesting the termination of an easement?
Parcel acquisition can constitute a merger
In agricultural areas, ambitious professionals made multiple properties in the same area. They may even purchase multiple adjacent parcels in an attempt to expand their operation. In a scenario where acquiring another parcel renders an easement unnecessary because a property owner has access to resources or the road, an easement against a nearby parcel may be eligible for termination.
The combination of two or more parcels into a single, larger parcel by an owner could also provide the basis to extinguish an easement. These same principles apply, regardless of the location or zoning of the parcels. The property owner affected by the easement can present documentation to the courts showing that the merger that occurred through the acquisition of multiple parcels has effectively eliminated the need for an easement.
Property owners trying to optimize their control of their holdings and the value of their property may choose to extinguish an easement in some cases. Reviewing the easement itself can help a property owner identify when terminating the easement.