Easement vs Right of Way: What Is the Actual Difference?

You are reading the title search on a property and you keep seeing two terms, easement and right of way, used like they mean the same thing. They do not, quite.

Here is the short version. All rights of way are easements, but not all easements are rights of way. An easement is the broad category, the right of somebody else to use your property, sometimes for a specific purpose and sometimes for a specific length of time. A right of way is one type of easement, the kind that specifically covers passing over property. Travel. Driving, walking, getting from point A to point B.

In the video below, North Carolina attorney Tiffany Webber breaks down the difference with examples, and explains how to find out which ones are on your property.

Watch the Full Video

What Is an Easement?

An easement is the right of somebody else to use your property. That use can be for a specific purpose, and it can be for a specific length of time, depending on the document that created it.

Take a big farm property. If you have electricity, you almost certainly have a utility easement, which is the right for the utility company to come in and install, maintain, and inspect the utilities. That is not about travel. It is about using a certain portion of the property for that one purpose.

Another common one is a shared well. You might have a well sitting right on the property line between two properties, with an agreement that you share it, and each of you gets to go on the other side of the line for the purposes of using the well, maintaining it, inspecting it, and so on. That is an easement. It does not give your neighbor the right to drive across your property to go somewhere else.

What Is a Right of Way?

A right of way is a type of easement, and it specifically refers to the right to pass over property.

Back to the farm. If there is a road running through it, that road is a right of way. It gives people the right to pass over your property to get from one place to another.

You might also see a right of way on your property if there is a landlocked parcel behind you. It was probably granted long before you came on the scene, to allow whoever is landlocked to get across your land to reach a public right of way. There is more on why landlocked parcels are their own problem in the types of homes we would not buy.

How Common Are They?

Easements are extremely common. Almost every property you look at has an easement on it of some kind. If the property has utilities, it is near impossible to get those utilities there without also granting a utility easement.

Rights of way are less common, though you still see them fairly often, because people do have to drive and walk to get to other pieces of property.

How to Find Out What Is on Your Property

A title search. Usually you hire an attorney to do it, though there are companies that do title abstracts as well. What comes back is a set of references, old documents and new ones, that explain the easements, the terms, how long they last, and who has the right to do what.

Whether what crosses your property is an easement or a right of way, you want to know about it before closing. Look at your plat. If your property is platted, and most neighborhoods are, you will see the marks showing where the utility easements and other easements sit.

And get a survey. On any property really, but especially rural property, where you need to locate the easements on the ground because they can affect your plans for the land.

Watch the full video for the whole explanation. For the deeper version on how these get created and how they end, see how easements are created and removed in North Carolina, and if you are buying, the four easement questions to ask first.

Common Questions

Is a right of way the same as an easement?

A right of way is a type of easement. All rights of way are easements, but not all easements are rights of way. The right of way is the one that covers passage across the property.

What is a utility easement?

The right for a utility company to enter a portion of the property to install, maintain, and inspect utilities. It is one of the most common easements there is, because getting utilities to a property usually requires granting one.

How do I find out what easements are on my property in North Carolina?

Run a title search, review the recorded plat, and get a survey. The title search turns up the documents, the plat shows where platted easements sit, and the survey locates them on the ground.

Can an easement affect what I build?

Yes. A utility, drainage, or septic easement typically limits what can be placed on that part of the property, which is why locating them on a survey matters before you plan a pool, a garage, or an addition.

Why does a landlocked parcel have a right of way across my land?

Because at some point in the property history somebody granted one, usually so the landlocked parcel could reach a public road. It is recorded, and it typically runs with the land rather than expiring.

Questions About an Easement on Your Property?

At Thomas & Webber, the title search and the recorded easements are part of every closing we handle, and we can walk you through what a document on your property actually allows.

Our offices in Mooresville, Cornelius, Denver, and Kannapolis serve owners, buyers, and sellers throughout the Lake Norman area, including Davidson, Huntersville, Sherrills Ford, Troutman, and Statesville.

Email your contract to close@thomasandwebber.com or call us at (704) 663-1600 to schedule your closing with us.