Appurtenant Easement vs Easement in Gross: Who Benefits and What Transfers
An appurtenant easement benefits a parcel and passes with it; an easement in gross benefits a person or entity. How the two differ, with state statute examples.
Quick answer
An appurtenant easement benefits a specific parcel of land and transfers automatically with that parcel. An easement in gross benefits a person or an organization and is not tied to any neighboring parcel. The difference decides who can use the easement, whether it passes to a buyer, and what a record search should look for.
What is an appurtenant easement?
The Legal Information Institute explains that an easement is a nonpossessory property interest, meaning the holder may use another person's land without owning it. When an easement appurtenant is granted, it "involves two pieces of land": one serves as the servient tenement that bears the burden, and the other is the dominant tenement, which benefits from the grant (Legal Information Institute, easement).
The same source defines the dominant estate as "the property that uses an easement over another property," with a simple example: if lot A had an easement over lot B to access the highway, lot A would be the dominant estate (Legal Information Institute, dominant estate). The burdened lot B is the servient estate.
The word appurtenant means attached to. The right is attached to the benefited land, not to whoever happens to own it today. For the basics of what an easement is and where one shows up in the records, start with our guide to the easement.
Definition
Appurtenant easement — An easement that benefits a particular parcel of land (the dominant estate) by letting its owner use a neighboring parcel (the servient estate), and that passes with the benefited parcel when it is sold.
What is an easement in gross?
An easement in gross benefits a person or an organization rather than a parcel of land. There is a burdened parcel, but no benefited parcel next door. The holder owns the right to use the land, and that right does not depend on owning anything nearby.
Official statutes show how this looks in practice. Arizona defines a conservation easement as "a nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property" and lists who can be a holder: a governmental body, or a charitable corporation or trustee of a charitable trust whose purposes include protecting natural, scenic or open space values (Arizona Revised Statutes 33-271). A holder of that kind does not need a neighboring lot.
Florida says the same thing directly. Its conservation easement statute provides that no conservation easement is unenforceable "on account of lack of privity of contract or lack of benefit to particular land or on account of the benefit being assignable" (Fla. Stat. 704.06, Online Sunshine). In other words, the legislature removed the old rule that an easement must benefit some specific land to be enforced, for that one kind of easement.
That is the key point for this topic: the traditional appurtenant rule is a default, and states change it by statute for particular types of easements. A statute for one type of easement does not rewrite the rule for every easement in the state.
Appurtenant easement vs easement in gross: side-by-side comparison
The table summarizes the differences that matter when you read a recorded easement. It describes the general structure; how a court treats a specific easement depends on the instrument and on state law.
| Question | Appurtenant easement | Easement in gross |
|---|---|---|
| Who benefits? | The owner of the dominant parcel, whoever that is | A named person or organization |
| Is a benefited parcel required? | Yes, two parcels are involved | No benefited parcel |
| What happens when the benefited land is sold? | The easement transfers along with the dominant tenement | Nothing happens to it, because it was never attached to land |
| Who can enforce it? | The current owner of the dominant estate | The holder, or a successor if the instrument or statute allows |
| Typical example | Driveway or access route across a neighbor's lot | Conservation easement held by a government body or charity |
| Where to look for it | In the deed or plat of both parcels, and the servient owner's chain | Recorded instrument naming the holder, indexed against the burdened parcel |
Does an easement transfer when the property is sold?
An appurtenant easement does. The Legal Information Institute states that "Easements are transferrable and transfer along with the dominant tenement" (Legal Information Institute, easement). A buyer of the dominant parcel gets the benefit, and a buyer of the servient parcel takes the land subject to the burden.
Some states say so in statute. California's Civil Code provides that a transfer of real property passes all easements attached to it (California Civil Code 1104). The wording "attached thereto" is the appurtenant idea in statute form: only easements attached to the land go along with it. California is not one of the states HeritageDeed serves, and it is cited here only as an example of a statute stating the principle.
An easement in gross follows different logic, because there is no benefited land to carry it. Whether it can be assigned depends on the instrument and the state. Florida's conservation statute, for example, speaks of the benefit being "assignable," and Arizona allows a conservation easement to be "assigned" in the same manner as other easements, executed by the burdened owner, the holder and any third-party enforcer (Arizona Revised Statutes 33-272).
Do not decide from the label alone
How can you tell whether an easement is appurtenant or in gross?
Find the recorded easement document
Search the county recorder or clerk index against the burdened parcel. The easement may be its own recorded instrument, or a paragraph inside a deed, plat or subdivision declaration.
Identify who receives the right
Look at the grantee. If the grantee is described by the land it owns, such as a lot number or a parcel description, the easement points to a benefited parcel. If the grantee is a named person, utility, agency or charity with no land attached, it points to a benefit held personally.
Check for a dominant parcel in the legal description
An appurtenant easement ties two descriptions together: the burdened land and the benefited land. If only the burdened land is described, a benefited parcel may not exist.
Read the successors and assigns language
Look at what the document says about passing the right to others. Language about heirs, successors, assigns, or "running with the land" is a clue to the intended reach, but it is not the final answer.
Look at the other deeds in both chains
Follow later deeds on the dominant parcel to see whether the easement was mentioned again. A chain of title review shows whether the right was passed along or dropped.
Ask a lawyer before relying on it
If the answer affects a closing, a boundary decision or construction plans, have a licensed attorney in the state read the instrument.
What are the dominant and servient estates?
The dominant estate is the land that benefits from an appurtenant easement. The servient estate is the land that carries the burden. The Legal Information Institute describes a servient tenement as a parcel "subject to an easement" whose owner "is obligated not to interfere with that privilege," and notes that the most common easements are of an access nature, such as a right-of-way to another parcel (Legal Information Institute, servient tenement).
These two terms only apply to an appurtenant easement. An easement in gross has a burdened parcel but no dominant estate, which is why Florida's statute speaks of an easement benefiting no "dominant estate" when it explains that conservation easements can still be assigned to other governmental bodies, charitable organizations or trusts.
For buyers and owners, the practical question is which side of the easement your parcel sits on. A servient owner needs to know what use must be left open. A dominant owner needs to know what rights actually exist on paper.
How does each type affect a buyer, a seller or a lender?
An easement is an encumbrance: a recorded burden on the land. It does not remove ownership, but it can limit what an owner can build or block. Lenders and buyers want to see them in a search before closing.
With an appurtenant easement, the buyer of the servient parcel inherits the obligation to allow the use, and the buyer of the dominant parcel inherits the right. Both buyers should confirm the easement shows up in their own deed or search report. If the easement is missing from the dominant parcel's paperwork, the right may be harder to prove.
With an easement in gross, a buyer of the burdened land should find out who the holder is, what the instrument allows, and whether the holder can assign it. A conservation easement is an example of why that matters: Arizona says it is "unlimited in duration unless the instrument creating it otherwise provides" (Arizona Revised Statutes 33-272).
For where these instruments are recorded and how to find them, see how to do a title search and encroachment, which covers what happens when a structure crosses onto land burdened by someone else's rights.
Do states treat easements in gross differently?
Yes. The traditional common-law idea is the same everywhere in outline, but states add statutes for particular easements and courts apply their own case law. The two statutes cited above show the pattern: Florida removes the benefit-to-land requirement and makes the benefit assignable for conservation easements, and Arizona applies its general easement rules to conservation easements while limiting who may hold one.
Because of this, a rule you read in one state is a starting point, not a conclusion. HeritageDeed does not have an official source for every state's common-law test for easements in gross, so we have limited this guide to statutes we could read at the official site. Check the statutes and case law for the state where the property sits, or ask a local attorney.
Where HeritageDeed fits
HeritageDeed offers records searches in the counties listed on the title search coverage page: Current Owner Search $49, Two Owner Search $79 and 30-Year Search $129. A search reports what recorded documents it found and the scope it covered. It is not title insurance and it is not legal advice, and it does not decide whether an easement is appurtenant or in gross.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- An appurtenant easement involves two parcels: a dominant estate that benefits and a servient estate that is burdened.
- An appurtenant easement transfers along with the dominant parcel; an easement in gross benefits a person or organization instead.
- Conservation easements show the in-gross model in statute: Arizona names governments and charities as holders, and Florida says no benefit to particular land is required.
- The label does not decide the type. The grantee, the legal descriptions and the instrument's wording do.
- State statutes can change the default rules for particular easements, so read the law of the state where the land sits.
- A records search finds the recorded easement. Interpreting it is a job for a licensed attorney.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between an appurtenant easement and an easement in gross?
- An appurtenant easement benefits a particular parcel and transfers with it when that parcel is sold. An easement in gross benefits a person or organization and is not tied to a neighboring parcel. The first involves two pieces of land; the second has a burdened parcel and a holder.
- What is an example of an appurtenant easement?
- Lot A has a recorded right to cross lot B to reach the highway. Lot A is the dominant estate and lot B is the servient estate. If lot A is sold, the right to cross lot B goes with it. This is the example the Legal Information Institute uses.
- What is an example of an easement in gross?
- A conservation easement held by a government body or a charity is a statutory example. Arizona lists those holders by statute, and Florida says a conservation easement does not need to benefit particular land. The holder owns the right personally, with no neighboring lot attached.
- Does an appurtenant easement run with the land?
- Yes. The Legal Information Institute says easements are transferrable and transfer along with the dominant tenement. The benefit goes to each new owner of the dominant parcel, and the burden stays on each new owner of the servient parcel, subject to what the recorded document says.
- Can an easement in gross be transferred or sold?
- It depends on the instrument and the state. Some statutes address it for specific easement types. Arizona lets a conservation easement be assigned in the same manner as other easements, and Florida refers to the benefit being assignable. For other easements, check the document and state law.
- What are the dominant and servient estates?
- The dominant estate is the property that uses an easement over another property. The servient estate is the property subject to the easement, whose owner must not interfere with the privilege. Both terms describe appurtenant easements, which always involve two parcels.
- How do I find out if my property has an appurtenant easement or an easement in gross?
- Search the county recorder or clerk records for the property and read the recorded instrument. Check who the grantee is, whether a benefited parcel is described, and what the document says about successors. A records search finds the document; an attorney interprets it.
- Does a title search show easements?
- A search of the recorded documents can show easements that were recorded and indexed against the property. It cannot show unrecorded rights, and it is not title insurance or legal advice. Read the scope of any report to see which records it covered.
Sources
Primary records and official documentation cited in this article.
- 1Legal Information Institute, easement (Wex)
- 2Legal Information Institute, dominant estate (Wex)
- 3Legal Information Institute, servient tenement (Wex)
- 4Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine: Fla. Stat. 704.06, Conservation easements
- 5Arizona Legislature: A.R.S. 33-271, Definitions
- 6Arizona Legislature: A.R.S. 33-272, Creation, conveyance, acceptance and duration
- 7California Legislative Information: Civil Code 1104
HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.