Easement
A non-possessory right to use another's real property for a defined purpose. Texas easements are either appurtenant (benefiting a dominant estate) or in gross (benefiting a person or entity, not a parcel). Created by express grant, reservation, implication, necessity, or prescription.
An easement is a non-possessory interest in another's real property granting the holder a defined right to use the property for a specific purpose. The easement holder does not own the underlying property; the property owner retains all other rights consistent with the easement. Texas law recognizes a robust framework of easement types and methods of creation, with substantial body of case law on scope, abandonment, and termination.
Easement appurtenant vs. easement in gross
An easement appurtenant benefits a specific parcel of land (the "dominant estate") and burdens another parcel (the "servient estate"). It runs with the land, both the benefit and burden transfer automatically with conveyances of the respective parcels. A typical example: a driveway easement allowing access from a landlocked parcel across a neighboring parcel. An easement in gross benefits a person or entity rather than a parcel, utility easements (electric, gas, telecommunications, water/sewer) are the classic example. Some easements in gross may be assigned, but an assignee's use cannot exceed the rights expressly conveyed to the original holder.
Methods of creation
Texas easements are created by: (1) express grant, a written instrument satisfying the statute of conveyances (recording protects the holder against later purchasers and creditors but is not required for validity between the parties); (2) express reservation, grantor reserves easement when conveying the burdened parcel; (3) implication from prior use, where at severance of a unified tract the use was apparent, continuous, and necessary (not available for roadway access to a landlocked parcel); (4) necessity, where severance of a unified tract leaves a parcel landlocked, which requires strict necessity both at severance and at present; (5) prescription, adverse, exclusive, open and notorious, hostile, and continuous use for 10 years (analogous to adverse possession but for use rather than possession); (6) estoppel, based on representations and detrimental reliance.
Scope and reasonable use
The scope of an easement is determined by the granting instrument (for express easements) or by the surrounding circumstances and reasonable use (for non-express easements). A driveway easement granted "for ingress and egress" generally cannot be used for parking, storage, or business purposes beyond reasonable access. Disputes over scope are common when the dominant estate's use intensifies, e.g., a residential easement claimed for commercial development. For an express easement, the terms of the grant control, and the holder may make only the uses reasonably necessary to the purpose stated in the grant.
Termination
Easements may terminate by (1) expiration of stated term; (2) merger of dominant and servient estates under common ownership; (3) release; (4) abandonment (requires intent plus non-use); (5) prescription (adverse possession by the servient owner blocking the use for the prescriptive period); or (6) for an easement by necessity, the end of the necessity. Mere non-use, without intent to abandon, does not terminate an easement under Texas law.
Recorded easements commonly appear as exceptions in a title commitment for Texas commercial property. Questions that typically arise in diligence include what each recorded instrument permits, where the easement lies on the survey, whether a utility easement carries width or setback effects, whether an easement may have been abandoned (non-use alone is not enough), and whether the seller can obtain a release before closing.