As we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, an easement is an agreement between two parties as to how a specific area of property can be accessed. Easements can make perfect sense for businesses with shared parking lots or farmers who may find it easier to access parts of their land by traveling across a portion of a neighbor’s property. Since these agreements are drawn up and agreed upon by both parties, oftentimes the rules are followed and no issues arise.
However, what happens if the party with access to a land owner’s property begins to abuse this privilege? What are your legal options if the party you granted the easement to is using it in a way that hurts your property value? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at what it means to have an overburdened easement, and what steps you should take if another party is abusing the easement agreement that was previously established.
What Is An Overburdened Easement?
There are typically two parties involved when an easement is granted. There is the landowner who is allowing access to a specific area of their property, known as the grantor, and there is the party who stands to benefit from access to this property, known as the servient. As long as the servient party acts within the guidelines laid out in the easement agreement, both parties should be able to coexist in harmony, but what happens when the servient starts to abuse the privilege?
Let’s give a couple examples to help explain what easement abuse or an overburdened easement might look like.
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Example 1 - You allow some neighboring families to cut through your farm fields in order to access their hunting land. It is agreed that they will walk through the fields along a specific path. You later find out that some members of the family have been driving ATVs through your field so they don’t have to drag a downed deer as far. This ATV use has damaged some of your crops or created an unsightly path on your property.
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Example 2 - You have an easement agreement with the city, who has underground electric lines along your property. One day without warning, they decide to install an above ground substation on your property, which is both an eyesore and produces a noticeable humming noise that interrupts your ability to enjoy quiet time on your back porch.
In both of these scenarios, although the servient party was allowed to access the land for specific purposes, their actions go against the nature of the easement agreement. This could constitute an overburdened easement. Under Minnesota law, an easement is considered overburdened when servient use exceeds what was originally agreed upon or what was anticipated when the easement was originally granted.
If you ever believe that your easement is being overburdened, your best bet is to contact a title service company like Commercial Partners. We may be able to sort out matters based on the specific nature of the easement agreement, or we can point you in the right direction if you need to file a petition against a company or a local municipality.
While there’s also the possibility that a conversation with the servient party can clear things up, if your easement continues to be abused, you need to bring in a professional. We’ve helped handle easement disputes and draft airtight easement agreements so that they are less likely to be overburdened, and we can do the same for you. For more information, contact the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.