Also known as: appurtenances · appurtenant · appurtenants · appendant
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A right or obligation of a servitude that is tied to ownership or occupancy of a particular unit or parcel of land. The benefit of an easement or profit is appurtenant when it serves the possessor in the use of a dominant estate. The burden of an easement or profit is always appurtenant.
Marvin reserved a right to draw water from a canal on land sold to Apex Livestock for use on his retained homestead. Years later Marvin conveyed the homestead to Joy without separate assignment of the water right. Apex blocked Joy's use of the canal. The reserved right passed automatically to Joy because it was created to benefit and did benefit the possessor of the homestead in its agricultural use.
Brook Firm held an easement for client access over a courtyard on neighboring land. Brook Firm later purchased the servient parcel and then sold it to Nova Legal. Nova Legal denied continued access. The burden remained appurtenant to the servient parcel and bound Nova Legal regardless of the change in ownership.
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Larkin leased a warehouse bay to Prairie Seeds while retaining control of the gravel access road serving the leased bay. Larkin hired Dusty Roads Grading to maintain the road. A Prairie Seeds driver was injured when a truck hit a rut on the road. Larkin remained subject to liability for the dangerous condition on the retained appurtenant area.
Metro Media received a recorded vehicular right of way across an alley on Daily Press Publishing's parcel for satellite truck access. Daily Press later conveyed the servient parcel to Cityview Condo Association. Cityview installed bollards blocking truck access. Metro Media held the right as appurtenant to its studio parcel and could enforce it against the new owner of the servient land.
Global Legal purchased a condominium unit subject to a recorded declaration requiring proportional contributions to a shared law library in a neighboring unit. Global Legal refused to pay its share after taking title. The contribution obligation bound Global Legal because it was an appurtenant burden tied to ownership of the unit.
Successive adverse users crossed a strip of Tabitha's ranch for pipeline access over the prescriptive period. The users held interests in the benefited parcel. The prescriptive easement accrued to the benefit of all those holding interests in the dominant land to which the easement was appurtenant.
An appurtenant easement benefits the possessor of a particular dominant parcel in the use of that land. An easement in gross does not benefit any particular tract and stands independently of land ownership. The burden of every easement is appurtenant to the servient land.
Yes. An appurtenant benefit transfers with the benefited estate by operation of law upon conveyance of the dominant parcel. No separate assignment is required. This rule protects subsequent purchasers who reasonably expect to receive established appurtenances.
Unity extinguishes an appurtenant easement when the same party acquires both the dominant and servient estates to the extent the uses authorized by the easement can be made by virtue of fee ownership alone. Temporary unity still triggers extinguishment. The easement does not revive automatically upon later severance.
No. A landlord who retains control over areas appurtenant to leased premises remains liable for physical harm caused by dangerous conditions on those areas. Liability attaches as if the landlord performed the maintenance itself even when an independent contractor is hired.
…State has effectively granted a tenant the property right to have a CATV installation placed on the roof of his building, as an appurtenance to the tenant's leasehold. The short answer is that § 828(1)(a) does not purport to give the tenant any enforceable property rights with respect to CATV installation, and the lower courts…