Practise exam question: Easement
An owner has a small property that has a ten-foot-wide side yard, which includes a four-foot-wide utility easement that runs along one side of the yard. The owner has hired an architect to assist in locating a new 7' x 7' shed in the side yard.
How should the owner proceed with the construction of the shed?
| A. | Construct the shed because they own the entire parcel. |
| B. | Request permission from the utility company before constructing the shed. |
| C. | Do not construct the shed because no structure can be placed in the easement. |
I was confused about the question, my understanding was we're not supposed to building on the easement.
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Lingmei,
The 4' easement is contained within a 10' side yard; therefore 6' of the side yard is available to build without any stipulations. The shed the owner wants to build is 7' wide, so only 1' of the shed would be in the easement if constructed. While I would agree that it is good practice to avoid building anything in an easement, the utility company cannot prevent you from building on your property. However, since they must be able to still access the utilities, they *can* force you to remove anything that obstructs their access, buildings included! So that's why the best option in this scenario is to reach out to the utility company to see if building the shed 1' within the easement is acceptable.
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