California Real Estate SalespersonProperty Ownership and Land Use ControlsMedium
A landowner sells the rear portion of her parcel to a buyer. The rear parcel has no direct access to any public road except by crossing the seller's remaining land. What type of easement is most likely to arise in favor of the rear parcel?
- AEasement by necessity
- BEasement by prior use
- CEasement in gross
- DPrescriptive easement
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Easement by necessity
When a landlocked parcel is created by a division of land and has no access to a public road except across the grantor's remaining land, the law implies an easement by necessity to provide reasonable access, since land without access has little practical use.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Easement by prior use (implication) requires evidence of prior actual use before severance, not just necessity.
- C. An easement in gross benefits a person or entity, not landlocked land, and doesn't arise from necessity.
- D. Prescriptive easements require open, continuous, hostile use for the statutory period, not mere landlocking.
Easement by Necessity
An easement created by law when a parcel is landlocked as a result of a division of land, giving the landlocked owner access across the remaining land.
- Arises only from strict necessity for access, typically at time of severance
- Common origin: seller conveys landlocked parcel to buyer
- Ends when the necessity ends (e.g., alternative access becomes available)
Memory trick: No road out? The law carves a path through necessity.