Residential and commercial property owners in Florida may find it necessary to access property owned by someone else for certain reasons. When this is due to the ability to access another place or a public road, an easement may be granted or created. As explained by the University of Florida, easements provide a landowner the benefit of use but do not provide any financial benefit.
An easement cannot be in place when two pieces of property are owned by the same person. As explained by the Florida Statues, an easement can be implied as well as expressly granted through a written agreement. Such implication can be in place if no other means of necessary access exists. Easements may also be terminated. One way this can happen is if another access route becomes available, negating the need for the easement.
If the access in an easement is blocked, owners are legally given the right of going further onto another party’s property to get to the necessary destination. Blockages may be ordered to be removed depending upon the situation. An example is a fence that is erected that bans any access via an easement. A gate or removal of the fence may be necessary to retain the easement rights. Property owners who hold easements are responsible for maintaining such access paths.
Landowners should understand that an easement is always granted for a very specific purpose. Use of an easement for anything outside of the scope of the original agreement is not permitted. Conflicts between property owners for alleged improper use of an easement or other problem may be resolved through legal action.
