0
Want this question answered?
Be notified when an answer is posted
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
How can you buy back a utility easement or part of it?
A utility easement is a feature of the property you own, not a loss of property. A utilty easement is a section of your property that needs to be left accessible to the utility (electric company, phone company, etc.) for service, repairs, upgrades etc. You can use the space such as erect a fence but you need to know that if the utility needs to access your easement space they have the right to move or destruct what you have erected.
Can one fence in a yard subject to gas line and electric line easements?
First you must check the language that created the easements. Some instruments specifically state that there will be no permanent structures within a certain distance of the center line of the easement. Regarding a fence, you could contact the easement department of each utility to discuss your needs. Some companies are very accommodating. You may be allowed to erect a fence in your yard but you will need to make the property accessible to the utility companies. If it is a large property the companies may allow the fence but require that you provide gated access to the easement area wide enough for access with equipment. You may not fence in the property so as to block entry by the utility companies.
If there is a exclusive easement can the non property owner put up a fence?
If the easement is exclusive, then the non property owner can put up a fence. However, it can only be done with the permission of the property owner.
Who pays taxes on an easement?
On the property the easement is on/over? That depends on the terms of the easement given and agreed to. The most common forms of easements, utility and right of way easements the property owner pays the property taxes.
Can a neighbor build a concrete block and wood fence across a 20 ft wide utility easement?
It depends on the nature of the easement. You need to get a copy of the easement from your county records office, and see what rights it gives the neighbor to build on the easement. Odds are, if it's a utility easement, it belongs to the utility company alone. See a real estate attorney for detailed information on your state's laws.
How wide is an easement?
There is no set width for an easement. An easement is defined by an agreement between the two property owners. Some easements have standard sizes such as roads or utility easements.
How far away from a utility easement do you have to be?
The area on either side of a utility easement is generally stated in the instrument that created the easement. For example, "no structures within 15 feet of either side of the center line". Check with the title company or attorney who represented you when you purchased your property for a copy of the easement document.
If a utility owns an easement across the middle of your property do you have to allow them access across your private property?
Yes, because that is exactly what an easement is. The right to go onto another person's land usually for a specific and limited purpose. However, you may refuse to let the utility people go anywhere else on your property except on the exact portion of land that is covered by the easement. Such easements are usually restricted to that portion of the land so as to enable the utility to read the meter or repair damaged equipment. The terms of the deed of easement will specify where the utility can go.
Can FPL break your fence down?
I'm going to assume that FPL stands for Florida Power and Light. If that is correct - if you have a fence constructed across their easement on your property - they have a legal right to access your property to work on their system. Although they should probably have asked first, if the case was an EMERGENCY situation, yes, they can access the property to make emergency repairs to a public utility.
If a utility easement is no longer in use how do you get a release from the utility company?
You need to contact the easement department of the utility company that owns the easement and ask for a release. The utility must research the easement in their records which is sometimes a very complicated process. They may require a fee for the research and release. That fee can run in the hundreds of dollars. On the other hand they may refuse to release it at all even if it is not in use. Once they have property rights some utility companies don't let them go.
Is the property owner responsible to maintain the utility easement?
You need to review the document that created the easement to determine that type of responsibility. All the terms should be included in that document.
What is the definition of presumptive easement Can a utility company claim presumptive easement when they never asked for an easement from the property owner?
Presumptive easement occurs when the access or easement has been used for so many years it has become an established easement. The owners permission is not necessary if they allowed it to go for years without complaint.
