Easement

An easement (Norwegian: servitutt) is a limited right to use someone else's property in a particular way, or to stop the owner from using their own property in particular ways. A right of way across a neighbour's yard, a right to run cables or pipes for the municipality's district heating, grazing rights on outlying land, a building ban in the shoreline zone: all of these are easements. Unlike full ownership, an easement is always limited in content, scope or duration, and it follows the property (not the owner) on transfer. Easements are one of the most important types of encumbrance on real property, and they are governed by servituttlova, the Easements Act of 1968.

Easements are traditionally divided into two groups:

• Positive easements give the holder the right to do something on the burdened property. Examples are a right of way, rights to run water, sewerage, electricity or district heating lines, grazing rights, logging rights, fishing rights, well rights and parking rights.
• Negative easements prohibit the owner from carrying out particular actions on their own property. Classic examples are building bans, height restrictions, bans on commercial activity in a residential area, and bans on planting that blocks a view.

Easements can arise in several ways: by agreement (which is registered in Grunnboken), by hevd (acquisitive prescription, typically 20 years of continuous use in good faith under hevdsloven, the Prescription Act), by immemorial use, by expropriation, or through jordskifte (land consolidation proceedings). Easements tied to a particular person are called personal easements; easements belonging to a dominant property are called real easements (or appurtenant rights) and follow the dominant property on sale.

To gain legal protection against a third party acting in good faith, an easement based on agreement must be registered in Grunnboken. Under section 20 of the Land Registration Act, a registered right ranks ahead of simultaneous or later unregistered rights. Section 21 limits this: if the acquirer knows about the older unregistered right, the older right takes priority. Taken together, this means an unregistered easement can lose priority to an acquirer in good faith who registers their right without knowing about the easement. Easements created by hevd have a distinctive protection: they stand without registration as long as they are visible or otherwise known.

Servituttlova also contains rules on change and termination. Under section 5, an easement can be altered ("omskiping", a change in location, form or content) if the other party is guaranteed an equally good arrangement. Section 7 provides the legal basis for extinguishment ("avskiping"): an easement that clearly causes more harm than benefit to the burdened property can be deleted against compensation to the rights holder, typically an old right of way or right of use that has lost practical significance.

For developers and analysts, easements are a critical part of due diligence. A negative easement that bans commercial activity or sets a height restriction can stop a project completely, and a positive easement that gives the neighbour a right of way across the plot can force an unwanted position for a new building. Negative easements on development plots are a recurring feature in disputes, and the outcome can be anything from a project halt to renegotiation with the easement holder against payment.

In Placepoint, registered easements are shown as encumbrances in the property panel, with the registration date, day book number, type and text. The details in the easement document itself are obtained by ordering from Kartverket.

How this looks in Placepoint

In Placepoint, you find this in Property panel:

From Placepoint's glossary: Servitutt

More information: Lovdata: Servituttlova, Lovdata: Hevdsloven, Kartverket: Easements

English: Easement / servitude (registered right burdening real property).

Frequently asked questions

What is an easement?

An easement is a limited right to use someone else's property (a positive easement) or to stop the owner from carrying out particular actions on their own property (a negative easement). The easement follows the property on sale.

Where do I find easements on a property?

Registered easements appear in Grunnboken at Kartverket and can be looked up at seeiendom.kartverket.no. A full land register extract shows all active encumbrances. Unregistered easements (typically from hevd) require local investigation.

How is an easement deleted?

An easement is deleted by registering a declaration of deletion from the rights holder, or through limitation. Easements that have become unreasonably burdensome can also be altered under section 5 of servituttlova or extinguished against compensation under section 7.

What is the difference between a positive and a negative easement?

A positive easement gives a right to use the property (a right of way, a right to run lines). A negative easement prohibits the owner from carrying out particular actions (a building ban, a height restriction). Both bind later owners once they are registered.

Can an easement arise without an agreement?

Yes, an easement can arise through hevd (typically 20 years of continuous use in good faith), through immemorial use, through expropriation or through jordskifte. Easements created by hevd are protected even without registration, as long as they are visible or known.