An easement is the right to use another person's land for a specific purpose. Unlike ownership, an easement doesn't give you title to the land — it gives you a limited right to use it. Easements are one of the most common sources of neighbor disputes, boundary confusion, and title complications in Bucks County real estate.
Express easements are created by a written instrument — typically a deed, a separate easement agreement, or a recorded declaration. The document specifies the location, scope, and permitted uses. Most utility easements and shared driveway agreements are express easements.
Easements by implication arise when a parcel is subdivided and one portion has been using a feature (like a driveway or water line) that serves the other portion. If the use was apparent, continuous, and reasonably necessary at the time of the subdivision, the law implies an easement even though the deed is silent.
Easements by necessity exist when a parcel has no access to a public road except through an adjoining parcel. Pennsylvania courts will grant an easement of necessity to prevent landlocking — but only if both parcels were once under common ownership and only for the minimum access required.
Prescriptive easements are the easement equivalent of adverse possession. If someone uses your land openly, continuously, and without your permission for 21 years, they may acquire a permanent legal right to continue that use. Unlike adverse possession, a prescriptive easement doesn't transfer title — it just establishes a right to use. Common examples: a neighbor who has been crossing your property to reach the road for decades, or a path worn through private land that the public has used for 21+ years.
Most residential properties in Bucks County have recorded utility easements — typically 5 to 15 feet along property lines — granting PECO, the sewer authority, or the water company the right to install, maintain, and access infrastructure. These easements restrict what you can build in the easement area. Fences, sheds, permanent structures, and sometimes even certain landscaping can violate a utility easement and may need to be removed at your expense.
Check your deed, your title insurance policy, and the recorded subdivision plan for easement locations before starting any improvement project.
Shared driveways are extremely common in older Bucks County boroughs — Bristol, Morrisville, Langhorne, Doylestown — where homes were built close together. The legal arrangement is typically a reciprocal easement: each owner grants the other an easement to use their half of the driveway. Problems arise when one owner wants to repave (and the other doesn't), when one owner blocks access, or when one owner's use exceeds the scope of the easement (parking commercial vehicles, storing materials).
If there's a recorded easement agreement, the terms control. If there isn't, you may need to establish the easement through implication, prescription, or a new agreement.
Common disputes include:
Easement disputes are resolved either by agreement or through litigation in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. In many cases, a well-drafted letter from an attorney resolves the matter without a lawsuit. When litigation is necessary, the court examines the original grant, the parties' conduct, and decades of use to determine the easement's scope and enforceability.
Title Search Tip
Easements don't always show up in an obvious place. They can be buried in old deeds, recorded separately, referenced in subdivision plans, or created by decades of use (prescriptive). A thorough title search examines the full chain of title for recorded easements, and a survey identifies physical evidence of unrecorded ones. If you're buying property with shared driveways, visible paths, or utility infrastructure, ask your attorney specifically about easement issues.
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