Easement in Gross

An easement in gross is a legal right to use another person’s land for as long as the owner owns that land or the holder of the easement dies.

An easement in gross is the right to use someone’s land as long as it belongs to the owner. If the owner transfers the ownership to other parties, the easement will be canceled.

The party who takes advantage of the property cannot transfer to the third party.

Example of Easement in Gross

Mr. A is the landowner, and he gives the right to Mr. B to use part of his land to park some vehicles. He sells the easement in gross to Mr. B, so he can use that part of the land as long as the land still belongs to Mr. A. If the land ownership is transfer to the next person, this right will not transfer but canceled.

The permission to use this part of the land will not allow Mr. B to own or sell the property to other parties.

Another example, You may have the easement in gross to cross your neighbored land into your land. It means you can use the land, but you are not the owner. And you may lose the right when your neighbored sell the land to others.

The easements can be negotiated and prepare according to the agreement between two parties. It also attaches to the land title deed to ensure transparency.

Negative Easement

Opposite from the easement in gross, negative easement is the right to prevent the landowner from doing some specific tasks on their own land.

For example, You want to obtain the negative easement to prevent your neighbor from building the wall which will block the mountain view from your side.