Florida Real Estate Broker ExaminationReal Estate Law and RegulationsHard
A Florida property owner discovers that a utility company has been running an underground pipeline across a corner of their undeveloped land for the past 25 years without their knowledge or permission. The utility company claims they have a right to continue doing so. What type of easement might the utility company be claiming?
- AEasement in gross
- BEasement by prescription
- CEasement by express grant
- DEasement by necessity
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Easement by prescription
An easement by prescription (or prescriptive easement) is created when someone uses another's property openly, notoriously, continuously, and adversely for a statutory period (20 years in Florida) without the owner's permission. The utility company's long-term, non-consensual use fits this description.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This is incorrect; an easement in gross benefits a specific person or entity (like a utility company) rather than a dominant estate, but it typically arises from an express grant or reservation, not adverse use.
- C. This is incorrect; an express grant implies written permission, which the scenario states was absent.
- D. This is incorrect; an easement by necessity is created when a property is landlocked and needs access, which is not the situation described.
Easement by Prescription (FL)
In Florida, an Easement by Prescription is acquired through open, continuous, adverse, and uninterrupted use of another's property for a statutory period of 20 years, without the owner's permission.
- 20-year statutory period in Florida.
- Use must be open, notorious, continuous, and adverse.
- No permission from the owner.
Memory trick: Easements are rights to use someone else's land, sometimes by agreement, sometimes by just taking it for a long time.