Express easement

An express easement is the most common and the clearest kind of easement: someone with the power to do so puts the right of use in writing. It can be created by a grant (the owner gives a neighbor the right to cross) or by a reservation (a seller keeps a right of access when conveying part of a parcel). Because most states apply a Statute of Frauds to interests in land, an express easement almost always has to be in a signed writing, and recording it in the county records is what makes it run with the land and bind future buyers. The scope of an express easement is read from the language of the instrument, so disputes usually turn on what the words mean rather than whether the easement exists.

The elements

• A signed writing satisfying the state Statute of Frauds
• Words of grant or reservation identifying the right of use
• Identification of the servient (burdened) and dominant (benefited) land
• Recording in the county land records to bind successors (best practice and often required for priority)