Easements & Deed Restrictions

The presence of an easement or deed restriction may prevent the construction of an addition.

 

Your town may own part of your
front yard, where the sidewalk is.

An easement is a legal interest in a parcel of land, owned by someone other than the landowner. An easement entitles the holder to a specific limited use.

Most easements are designed to provide access to services and utilities. For instance, a municipality may own a sewer easement on a portion of property for a storm or wastewater sewer. The presence of this type of easement means either that a sewer pipe is underground or that the town has the right to place a sewer there.

For the most part, easements are purchased or placed on a property and remain with the property until legally changed. These should show up on your survey plat or on your deed or tax map. It is highly unlikely that an easement can be changed to accommodate an addition, particularly if a pipe or electric lines are located underground. The homeowner does not own the rights to the land on an easement even though it is on his or her property.

Deed restrictions are conditions placed on the property by former owners that may protect specific areas of the property or may place conditions on building. Deed restrictions may be present to protect wetlands or other natural resources, or may limit the type of development or changes that can be made to a property. For example, many municipalities will place deed restrictions on houses when they are first built to protect open space from future development.