How Wide Is A Utility Easement?

Underground electric easements can be anything from 10 to 20 feet wide.

The majority of easements are how wide?

  • Pedestrian Facilities: A minimum of a 10-foot easement is required, but depending on the location and use, more may be necessary.
  • A 30-foot width will suffice for a private roadway with up to six users. The easement widens to 50 feet or 60 feet after 6 users, depending on the number of users and the zoned land use (rural or urban).
  • Stormwater, sanitary sewer, and water lines normally have a 20-foot minimum easement. The width, on the other hand, is determined by the purpose and use. It’s possible that some of the widths are less than 20 feet.
  • Other Utilities: Power, cable, telephone, and other utilities require at least a 10-foot easement, but may require more depending on the easement’s placement.

Is it possible to erect a fence around an easement?

Despite the fact that many property owners feel they cannot construct on a property or utility easement, it is possible in some circumstances. Keep in mind that a utility easement is only intended to allow a utility to utilise and access a specific area in order to build gas, sewage, or water lines. Property easements have a considerably greater scope and are usually in the public interest.

An easement on a property can be used for a variety of purposes. An entity that acquires a large easement can utilise the land for burial, as a right of way, for fishing, and for the right to pasture. Many easements have walkways for the public to utilise in order to stay off the road. If you intend to construct on an easement, you should be aware that doing so may cause problems in the future.

While a fence can be built on an easement, keep in mind that the utility provider may need to remove it in order to use the easement. They will, however, usually repair the fence as best they can once their work is over. Pools and hot tubs can also be built on easements. If you have an above-ground pool, you can take it out when the easement is needed. Installing an in-ground pool into the easement, on the other hand, may be a better option for you because these pools cannot be readily removed. While trees and other major types of plants should never be put over an easement, grass and shrubs can be planted all around it.

What are the most typical easements used by utility companies?

While there are many various types of easements, the following are the ones that most typically affect a property owner who wants to develop or remodel on their property:

Utility Easements

A utility easement, the most common sort of easement, permits a utility company to run its pipes, lines, and other equipment beneath or on other people’s land to service its customers. Rather than purchasing all of the land required, utility corporations work out easement agreements with landowners. Due to the high cost of constructing and maintaining utilities, these easements typically last a long time, if not forever.

Drainage Easements

A drainage easement is land that has been given to a municipality for the purpose of water runoff drainage, flood management, or storm sewer access. In these locations, the landowner retains ownership of the property and is responsible for paying taxes and maintaining it. The drainage easement, on the other hand, may have an impact on insurance costs, the ability of a mortgage lender to finance the acquisition, and future construction plans.

Sidewalk Easements

A sidewalk easement, which is one of the most frequent types of easements, permits visitors to access your property from the front. Even if there is no real pavement, the title report may nonetheless show an easement.

Driveway Easements

Larger parcel properties with long drives are more likely to have driveway easements. For example, if a previously divided deep lot adds a nearby property, the adjoining property may require access through your driveway to acquire street access.

In Indiana, how wide is a utility easement?

(a) The apparent right-of-way of a county highway may be established by the county executive. However, the apparent right-of-way on each side of the centre line may not exceed twenty (20) feet, excluding additional width required for cuts, fills, drainage, utilities, and public safety.

Is it possible for a property owner to obstruct an easement?

You may be wondering who has access to and who can cross over your land if you’ve discovered an easement running through your property. There are a variety of easements available, each of which allows for different land uses. We’ll go over each of the different forms and explain who has access to them in each scenario.

An easement is, at its most basic level, “the right to use another person’s land for a specified purpose.” The easement could include the entire land or just a portion of it, and the’stated purpose’ could include anything from laying water pipes to gaining access to a site that is otherwise inaccessible to connecting two independent properties. An easement is a legal right provided by one property owner to another that prohibits the original landowner from building on or around the easement or limiting access to it.

A type of easement is a right of way. Adjacent landowners typically agree on a right of way easement. This could be because it’s essential to cross one property to go to another, the easement provides a far more convenient point of access, or it permits one property owner to cross another’s land to get to public land. For example, a property owner may grant an easement to someone in order to promote access to historically significant public woodland or a fishing river. It’s also crucial to think about the public right of way, commonly known as “the freedom to roam.” Usually, this is allowed for one of two reasons. Either the landowner has granted permission or the right of way has been used by the local community for many years.

There are several sorts of easements, each of which outlines the set of events that led to the easement’s creation. They are as follows:

  • Express grant This is usually spelt out in a property’s deeds. It commonly happens when someone sells a portion of their property but wishes to keep some of the rights to the land they sold. This could include the ability to maintain utility infrastructure or the right of way.
  • Prescription – This applies when a person has been openly exploiting land in a specific way for more than 20 years. If they can show that this is the case, they may be given an easement to continue using the land.
  • Implied grant (necessary easements) – This is common when a portion of a property is sold. Its presence, however, is implied by law rather than recorded into the property’s deeds. An easement of necessity exists, for example, if the land that was sold is the only way to reach the area that was kept.

Only those who are properly using the easement for its original purpose (e.g., for general access or to maintain utility infrastructure) should use the right of way when it comes to private easements and rights of ways. ‘Right to roam’ easements, on the other hand, are open to the whole public and cannot be restricted in any manner.

There are two primary distinctions to make when it comes to easements. Any member of the public with a ‘right to roam’ easement is allowed to cross the area. Only a tiny number of persons have access to private right of way easements. This agreement will exist between two property owners in the great majority of circumstances. An agreement between a landowner and a business, on the other hand, is possible.

If you have access points or easements on your property and are unsure about your rights to police access (either under public or private easement regulations), consult a property lawyer.

Is it possible to instal a deck over an easement?

In most cases, no, because you can construct under or over it if the work would not interfere with the easement in any way. Unless your proposed work creates “substantial” or “material” interference, the owner of the land benefited by the easement cannot launch an action against you.

Can I erect a fence near to the property line?

How Close Can I Build To The Property Line? Fences are normally constructed between 2 and 8 inches from the property border. Some localities allow fences to be built immediately on the property line, but you’ll have to work with your neighbour and possibly share the expense of the fence in this case.

Is the property that receives the benefit of an easement?

An easement is a “nonpossessory” property interest that grants the holder a right of way or the ability to utilise property that they do not own or possess. An easement does not give the easement holder the right to occupy the land or to keep others from it unless they obstruct the easement holder’s use. The property owner, on the other hand, may continue to use the easement and keep everyone off the land save the easement holder.

A “servient estate” is land that is affected or “burdened” by an easement, whereas the “dominant estate” is land or a person that benefits from the easement. The easement is considered to be “appurtenant” to the land if it benefits a specific piece of land. The easement is known as “in gross” if it merely benefits an individual personally rather than as the owner of a specific piece of land.

The majority of easements are affirmative, which means they allow you to utilise someone else’s property. Negative easements are less common, and they mainly involve limiting what can be done on a neighbouring or nearby property in order to preserve a person’s access to light or view.