November 3, 2022 By Katie Roundtree

If you own property in Florida, you may encounter the terms easement and right of way. Both of them affect how you can use your property and the rights to your property. They are used frequently in areas where Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District has maintenance responsibilities. They are essential to allow the District to access areas where it may not have ownership rights near our facilities or waterways.

An easement is a legal agreement that allows another party to use the subject property for a specific purpose. They do not give the user ownership over the property; they enable the user to use the subject property without being arrested for trespassing. An example is a drainage easement located between two homes. Within one or both parcels is a designated area where the easement holder may travel to access something on the other side.   Another example is flowage easement which allows water from one location to travel through a water body owned by someone else to another.

Some common easements in our area are drainage, water management, utility and landscape buffers. Each of these allows the holder to access the property for the purpose stated. They could be a means to access a pipe, a water body, an electrical connection, or landscaping around a facility.

A right of way is a broader type of easement that allows anyone to travel through the subject property to reach another destination. Like other easements, a right-of-way agreement gives the recipient no ownership over your property. However, a right-of-way does not give the holder access to another person’s property for “use” of the property. A right of way only allows a person to pass over another person’s property. Rights-of-way are for travel purposes across the land, such as a driveway or a walkway. They do not allow you to use the land for any other reasons.

Once an easement is created, the easement owner has the right and the duty to maintain it for its purpose unless otherwise agreed between the easement owner and the owner of the underlying property. The easement owner can make repairs and improvements to the easement, provided that those repairs or modifications do not interfere with the use and enjoyment of the easement by the owner of the property through which the easement exists.

Please be mindful of easements on your property and keep those areas clear of personal property. Access to the District’s facilities is critical, especially during storm events.

Suppose District staff or contractors cannot get to an area needing maintenance. In that case, there could be future unintended consequences.