With an easement, you keep your property but other people get to use it whether you like it or not. Beware the easement taking, whether temporary or permanent.
As a property owner, you always face potential easement through the government exercise of eminent domain. This means your land can be taken in the public interest, even against your will. However, you are entitled to just compensation.
Sometimes, the government takes your land in full and you have to relocate. Many times, however, the government’s actions are not so extreme. Perhaps they just need access through your property, or to use only a small portion of your property.
When the government demands access to your land but not ownership, they’re looking for an easement. You may have come across the term “right-of-way” a few times. There’s a difference between an easement and the right-of-way : Right of way means the property owner has to deed their land over to the government. An easement only gives the government a right to use the easement area.
Common types of easements in Georgia include utility easements, drainage and sewer easements, slope easements, and construction easements.
Under Georgia utility easement law , the government has the right to easements of private property in order to install, expand, and maintain utilities such as power lines. Very often, new construction can impact the location of existing utility lines. For example, a widened road can result in power lines being pushed back onto adjoining properties.
Other types of utility lines include electric, gas, and water lines. Even underground lines can significantly impact the land above them, as government workers will need to access the lines and repair them as necessary.
Note: If you build something that interferes with the easement holder’s ability to use their easement, it will need to be removed. Even something adjacent to the easement area that interferes with use of the easement may be a problem. Problematic structures may have to be removed at your expense, without entitling you to any additional compensation.
Learn More: The Complete Guide to Utility EasementsPrivate drainage easements are often required by the government as part of urban maintenance and improvement. What does a drainage easement look like ? It could take the form of a buried water line, or grading that provides surface water a pathway through which to flow. Oftentimes, the government must alter your land by digging ditches, building retention ponds, and performing other activities of that nature.
As with all easements, drainage easement restrictions on the property owner can be significant. You need to understand the full scope of the easement and how things may change in the future before agreeing to payment. For instance, while you may agree to an easement for water runoff, will that runoff amount stay consistent? The government might tell you that it will but that could change at any moment.
How often will government technicians need to visit the easement area and make improvements and repair? As difficult as it can be to project these things, you need to seek compensation for them now. It is extremely unlikely you will be able to get additional compensation later on. Experience in anticipating and calculating these costs is one of the many examples of how an attorney can help.
Tip: The “right to exclude others from your property” and the “right to park” are rights typically lost due to placement of easements.
Think of temporary construction easements as permission to use a segment of your property for however long a construction project lasts. One common temporary construction easement example is for the government to use your land as a staging area to complete their work. This type of easement can have a significant negative impact on your use and enjoyment of your property. For instance, it could result in large materials and equipment being used and operated close to your home or place of business.
How much compensation are you entitled to? Is the construction easement also a slope easement? An attorney can help you understand what’s being asked of you, consider side effects and consequences that you wouldn’t think of, and fight to try to get you maximum compensation that reflects the highest and best use of your land.
At this point, you may be wondering: Is there a utility easement on my property ? Is there some kind of a sewer easement on my property I’m not even aware of?
It’s possible. An easement is created in three primary ways: express grant, prescription, and implication.
The first way is the simple, typical process most people think of. An easement created by an express grant is a written contract between the government and the land owner. This contract lays out specifically where the easement is located and how it can be used.
Not all easements are created expressly or even require the land owner to be aware that it’s happening. Sometimes, consistent behavior by an easement user can create a permanent right to use that easement. This is called prescription or adverse possession.
Imagine you have a neighbor that, unknown to you, was cutting across the back of your large field as a shortcut to exit their property. They maintained the path and repaired it as necessary so they could keep using it. After a decade of this, you finally discover it and immediately tell them to put a stop to it.
Unfortunately, at this point, your neighbor may have acquired a permanent right to use that easement under the rules of prescription.
You can’t enjoy your land if you can’t freely access it, so public policy generally dictates that a landlocked parcel comes with implied easement rights . That means you can often use the neighboring parcel in a limited way to access your parcel. This is sometimes known as a driveway easement in Georgia.
The easement can last as long as it’s the only way to reasonably access the landlocked property. It also likely runs with the property from one owner to the next.
What does this mean for you when the government needs an easement for a landlocked part of your property? It could mean there’s an implied easement for the government to access the easement.
In addition, if your own access to the road from your land is blocked or interfered with by the government’s activities, you may be entitled to compensation under Georgia law. How much the work interferes with your access and how much financial loss you’ll suffer as a result is a matter that will be up for debate.
Tip: Even if your property isn’t being condemned, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of your driveway easement due to condemnation of a neighboring property. Get your case evaluated for free by calling a Georgia eminent domain attorney at 1-888-391-1339.
