Maine’s coastline is dotted with small communities of camps and cottages that have been inhabited by both year-round and seasonal residents alike for generations. As property changes hands throughout the years and as these coastal communities expand to accommodate the next generation, disputes often arise around access to these properties.
What is an Easement?
An easement is the right to use another’s property for a certain purpose. Sometimes easements are expressly granted in a deed or in an easement agreement between the property owners. While ideally the right to use a path, road, or right-of-way is clearly stated in a deed or easement agreement, the reality is often less formal and less clear.
Even where rights are not clearly stated in a deed or agreement, however, Maine courts have recognized that easement rights may be created and acquired in a number of other ways.
Prescriptive Easements
Property owners may acquire rights to use a path, road or right-of-way that is located on another’s property by prescription. Under this theory, an owner acquires rights as a result of having continuously used the path, road or right-of-way without interruption for more than twenty years, with the neighbor’s knowledge but without permission. The law recognizes these rights as a matter of fairness – if someone has been using another owner’s property for twenty years and the owner has not objected, the use should be allowed to continue.
Easement by Implication based upon Estoppel
Property owners may also acquire access by implication. For example, when a property owner’s deed includes a reference to a recorded plan and the plan depicts proposed streets or rights-of-way, the owner acquires rights to use those streets or rights-of-way. Courts recognize that even though the rights were not expressly stated in the deed, the buyer likely reviewed the plan before purchasing the property and relied on its depiction of the streets and rights-of-way in making the decision to buy the property.
Easement by Necessity
Property owners can obtain access rights by virtue of necessity. An easement by necessity is created when an owner conveys a lot out of a larger parcel and the new lot is landlocked as a result of the division. A common example of this is when a property owner with road frontage conveys the back portion of the property to someone else but fails to provide access to the main road for the new back lot. In that instance, the law may recognize a right-of-way over the front lot to reach the main road. As a matter of public policy, the law recognizes these rights because the land would be unusable without them.
Seeking Legal Guidance
These are just a few of the ways that Maine courts have recognized that easement rights may exist even when your deed does not expressly include them. If you are confronted with questions regarding your ability to access your property, it is best to consult with an attorney to determine what your rights may be. If you would like assistance in evaluating a potential easement claim, contact Perkins Thompson by phone at 207-774-2635.
