Appurtenant easement
National Real Estate Exam glossary · Land Use Controls
Definition
An easement that benefits a particular parcel (the dominant tenement) and burdens an adjacent parcel (the servient tenement). It is said to run with the land—it transfers automatically with the dominant estate and cannot be sold apart from it. Contrast an easement in gross, which benefits a person or entity rather than a parcel.
Appurtenant easement in plain English
An easement is legal permission to use part of someone else's land for a specific purpose. An 'appurtenant' easement links two neighboring properties: one property (the dominant tenement) gets the benefit, and the neighbor's property (the servient tenement) carries the burden. Picture a landlocked backyard that can only reach the road by crossing the neighbor's driveway — the right to cross belongs to the land itself, so if you sell your house, that right automatically goes to the new owner and can't be sold off separately. That's what 'runs with the land' means. (An easement 'in gross' is different — it benefits a person or company, like a power line, not a neighboring lot.)
Learn these first
Related National Real Estate Exam terms
National Real Estate Exam practice questions · National Real Estate Exam flashcards · National Real Estate Exam study guide