Easements in Pennsylvania 

2/17/2026

Easements in Pennsylvania 

What Landowners, Buyers, and Developers Need to Know

Easements are one of the most important — and most misunderstood — components of land ownership in Pennsylvania. They can increase property utility, restrict development potential, create legal risk, or significantly impact value.

Whether you are buying vacant land, selling farmland, assembling a commercial site, or planning a residential subdivision, understanding easements is essential.

In Pennsylvania — where parcels are often historic, rural tracts may be landlocked, utilities cross private property, and conservation programs are widespread — easements are common and highly consequential.

This article outlines the major types of easements in Pennsylvania, how they are created, how they affect land value, and how buyers and sellers can manage risk.

 

What Is an Easement?

An easement is a legal right that allows one party to use another party’s land for a specific purpose. The party benefiting from the easement is called the dominant estate. The property burdened by the easement is called the servient estate.

Easements are typically:

  • Recorded in the county Recorder of Deeds office
  • Binding on future owners
  • Permanent unless otherwise specified

They do not transfer ownership — but they do transfer rights.

 

The Major Types of Easements in Pennsylvania

1. Access Easements (Right-of-Way Easements)

Access easements are among the most common in Pennsylvania, especially in rural areas.

They provide:

  • Legal access to a landlocked parcel
  • Shared driveway use
  • Private road access

Why They Matter:

If a parcel does not have direct frontage on a public road, it must have legal access. Without it, financing and development may be impossible.

Buyers should always confirm:

  • The easement is recorded
  • The location is clearly defined
  • Maintenance responsibilities are outlined

2. Utility Easements

Utility companies frequently hold easements across private land for:

  • Electric lines
  • Water lines
  • Sewer lines
  • Gas pipelines
  • Telecommunications
  • Fiber optics

These easements may allow access for installation, maintenance, and upgrades.

Impact on Development:

Utility easements can:

  • Restrict building placement
  • Limit subdivision layout
  • Affect site design
  • Require setback buffers

In commercial and industrial development, utility coordination is critical.

3. Drainage & Stormwater Easements

Municipalities and adjacent landowners may hold drainage easements for:

  • Stormwater pipes
  • Swales
  • Retention basins
  • Stream channels

Pennsylvania’s stormwater regulations are strict. Many subdivisions include permanent drainage easements.

These can limit:

  • Fill activities
  • Structures
  • Fencing
  • Landscaping

4. Conservation Easements

Conservation easements permanently restrict development to preserve:

  • Agricultural land
  • Forest land
  • Open space
  • Environmental features

They are typically held by:

  • Land trusts
  • Counties
  • State agencies

These easements significantly affect highest and best use and resale value.

5. Agricultural Preservation Easements

Common in counties like Lancaster, Chester, York, and Berks. These permanently restrict non-agricultural development. They are often purchased through state and county preservation programs.

Unlike Act 319 (Clean and Green), these easements are permanent.

6. Prescriptive Easements

A prescriptive easement arises through long-term, continuous, open, and adverse use — typically for 21 years in Pennsylvania.

Example: If a neighbor has used a driveway across a property openly and continuously for decades without permission, they may claim prescriptive rights.

These can be highly contentious and require legal review.

7. Easements by Necessity

When a property is landlocked and was once part of a larger tract, courts may grant access by necessity. These are often not formally recorded and can create legal uncertainty.

8. Implied Easements

Implied easements arise from prior use when property is subdivided.

Example: A shared well or access route historically used by both parcels may create an implied easement.

These are fact-specific and legally complex.

9. Private Utility & Shared Drive Easements

Common in residential subdivisions.

These define:

  • Shared driveway maintenance
  • Shared sewer laterals
  • Well access
  • Common infrastructure

Failure to clarify maintenance obligations can create disputes.

10. Pipeline & Energy Easements

Pennsylvania’s Marcellus and Utica Shale regions have extensive pipeline easements.

These may include:

  • Gas transmission lines
  • Gathering lines
  • Compressor station access

Pipeline easements can:

  • Restrict construction above the line
  • Limit tree planting
  • Affect insurance and resale

11. Solar & Wind Easements

Emerging in rural Pennsylvania.

These may grant rights for: 

  • Solar farm access
  • Transmission corridors
  • Wind turbine placement

Long-term lease or easement structures must be carefully reviewed.

 

How Easements Affect Land Value

Easements can either:

Increase Value

  • Access easements that unlock landlocked parcels
  • Utility easements that enable development
  • Shared infrastructure that reduces cost

Decrease Value

  • Conservation restrictions
  • Pipeline corridors
  • Large utility rights-of-way
  • Unclear access rights
  • Development limitations

The impact depends on the type, scope, and location of the easement.

 

Risks for Buyers

Buyers of vacant land in Pennsylvania should evaluate:

  • All recorded easements
  • Boundary surveys
  • Title commitments
  • Access legality
  • Utility rights
  • Encroachments
  • Restrictions on future improvements

Failing to review easements can result in:

  • Inability to build
  • Forced relocation of structures
  • Unexpected maintenance costs
  • Legal disputes
  • Reduced resale value

A title search alone is not enough — interpretation matters.

 

Risks for Sellers

Sellers face risks if they:

  • Fail to disclose known easements
  • Misrepresent access rights
  • Overstate development potential
  • Ignore maintenance obligations

Proper pre-listing due diligence protects against failed contracts and liability exposure.

 

Easements and Development Planning

From a developer’s perspective, easements affect:

  • Lot yield
  • Building envelopes
  • Road placement
  • Stormwater design
  • Utility routing
  • Setbacks

A parcel with multiple easements may still be highly valuable — but only if properly analyzed and incorporated into design.

 

Easement Termination & Modification

In Pennsylvania, easements can sometimes be:

  • Terminated by agreement
  • Relocated by mutual consent
  • Extinguished by court action
  • Abandoned under specific circumstances

However, many easements — particularly conservation and utility easements — are effectively permanent.

Legal counsel is required for modification.

 

The Role of a Land & Development Specialist

Easements are not just legal technicalities — they are land value determinants.

A land & development specialist helps:

  • Review title and easement documents
  • Interpret impact on highest and best use
  • Coordinate with surveyors and attorneys
  • Identify red flags before closing
  • Structure transactions to reduce risk
  • Position property accurately in the marketplace

Most residential agents do not routinely analyze pipeline rights-of-way, stormwater easements, or agricultural preservation language.

In Pennsylvania’s highly regulated and locally controlled land environment, professional expertise reduces risk significantly.

 

Final Thoughts

Easements are part of the fabric of Pennsylvania real estate. From farmland preservation in Lancaster County, to pipeline corridors in Western PA, to shared driveways in suburban developments, easements shape how land can be used and valued.

For buyers, easements represent both opportunity and risk. For sellers, they define market positioning and pricing. For developers, they are design constraints that must be engineered around.

Understanding easements is not optional in land and development real estate — it is foundational.

Before buying or selling vacant land in Pennsylvania, always ask:

  • What rights come with this property?
  • What rights have been granted away?
  • How do those rights impact highest and best use?

Because in land real estate, what you don’t see on the surface often matters the most.