Revised March 5, 2003

"Easements" and "Rights-of-Way" are terms that you will find in all new home purchase agreements. To the layman, these terms are relatively interchangeable. Both of them mean that someone else has the right to come on your property for a limited purpose or that you have the right to go on someone else's property for a limited purpose.

Most easements and rights-of-way are based on common sense. They allow you to make the fullest possible use of your property while respecting the needs of your neighbours regarding services, maintenance and access, among other things. They protect the value of your property and, at the same time, preserve the value of all of the other properties in your neighbourhood. They will be registered on your title and failure to comply with them can result in serious consequences, including the inability to sell your property to a prospective purchaser on resale.

Utility Easements

Utility easements relate to the entitlement of utility companies to run their pipes, wires, cables, conduits, etc. across a portion of your property. If a utility easement is registered against your property, then you cannot do anything with that portion of your lot which would prevent the utility company from making reasonable use of its easement. For instance, you could not install a swimming pool on top of a utility easement, thereby denying the utility company the ability to maintain and repair the wires or pipes which run under the ground in that location.

Maintenance Easements

Another common form of easement or right-of-way relates to maintenance of your property. With today's modern homes being built on relatively small lots, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to maintain your own home without straying onto your neighbour's property. This is particularly so if your house is actually attached to your neighbour's. Therefore, common sense dictates that you be entitled to go onto your neighbour's property to the extent necessary to make repairs to or to maintain your own home.

Access Easements

Access easements are common on townhouse or rowhouse developments. Unless there is an access easement registered allowing the owner of an inner unit to traverse neighbouring properties, it will be impossible to get into or out of his or her backyard without traipsing through the house. Registered easements usually allow the owner of an inner unit to go down the sideyard of the end unit and across the back of the rear yards on the units between the end unit and the inner unit. It is important that these easements be kept open. If you want to fence your yard, you are entitled to fence all of it, including the portion that is subject to the easement. However, you must make certain that you put gates in the fence so that the neighbours continue to be able to exercise their right to cross your property. If you fail to respect the easements in this way, you could be forced to put gates into the fence in the appropriate places when you go to sell the property. Blocking the easement would be considered to be a defect in the property which a purchaser could insist you rectify.

Before signing to purchase a new home, you should fully understand all easements and rights-of-way that affect it. Your lawyer will be pleased to explain your rights and your obligations in relation to them.