Property Fall Build: Adverse Possession and Easements — Hostile Possession, Tacking, Prescription, Express Grants, Implication, Necessity, Estoppel, Licenses, and Profits

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🎧 EPISODE SUMMARY 🎧

Property rights can arise through possession, use, necessity, reliance, or prescription without a formal deed.

Adverse possession grants title after actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous possession for the statutory period.

Actual and continuous possession reflects reasonable land use and does not require constant physical presence. Seasonal use suffices if customary.

Open possession puts owners on notice. Exclusive possession requires owner-like control rather than public use.

Hostility means possessing without permission. Courts evaluate intent using objective, good-faith, or intentional-trespass standards.

Successive possessors can tack periods if connected by privity. Ousting another possessor lacks privity.

Statutory disabilities alter limitations periods only if present when adverse possession begins.

Color of title involves possession under a defective instrument, which may shorten periods or expand constructive possession.

Prescriptive easements grant use rights rather than title through adverse use, distinguishing prescription from adverse possession.

Easements are nonpossessory use rights over servient land. Appurtenant easements benefit dominant land; easements in gross benefit specific entities.

Express easements are created intentionally in writing, defining location, purpose, duration, and scope.

Implied easements arise when land division follows continuous, apparent preexisting use necessary for a parcel.

Easements by necessity arise when land severance blocks access, lasting only while necessity persists.

Prescription creates easements through adverse use. Estoppel creates them when users reasonably rely on permission.

Easement holders must respect authorized scope. Appurtenant easements cannot be expanded to serve newly acquired land if burdensome.

Holders maintain easements, though shared use allows cost apportionment.

Easements terminate by release, merger, abandonment, expiration, or ended necessity. Abandonment requires nonuse plus intent to relinquish.

Licenses provide revocable, nonpossessory permission to use land, becoming irrevocable only through detrimental reliance.

Profits permit entering land to extract natural resources and follow easement rules.

Key distinctions by interest claimed:

Adverse possession: seeks title.

Prescription: seeks adverse use rights.

Express easement: based on agreement.

Implied easement: based on prior use at severance.

Necessity: based on required access at severance.

Estoppel: based on permission plus reliance.

License: temporary, revocable permission.

Profit: permits resource removal.

Property rights can stem from long-standing conduct, not just formal conveyances.

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