Real estate16 min read

Easements and their impact on buying and selling property

What an easement is, how it arises and ends, when it binds you even if unregistered, what to check before buying and what time limits apply if a hidden burden comes to light after the deed.

Written by Coda Nuance Legal

Published on 5 February 2026

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In this article12 sections

Updated on 27 September 2026. The Civil Code rules on easements have not changed, but we have corrected the buyer's remedy for a hidden easement (rescission or compensation, with one-year time limits), added the 2025 Supreme Court case law on easements arising from an apparent sign, and explained the prior negotiation attempt (MASC) required since 3 April 2025 before going to court.

What an easement is and why it matters when you buy

Easements (servidumbres) are one of the legal concepts that cause the most disputes between neighbours and the most surprises in a property purchase. Not because they are unusual, but because they often exist without the owner or the buyer being aware of what they involve.

An easement is a limited right in rem (derecho real limitado): a burden on one property for the benefit of another property belonging to a different owner (Article 530 of the Código Civil (Spanish Civil Code, CC)). In practice, the owner of one property must tolerate a use, a restriction or a particular conduct in favour of another: letting people or vehicles pass, not building above a certain height, putting up with a pipe or taking a neighbour's drainage.

Praedial easements, which are the general rule, involve two properties:

Servient property (predio sirviente): the one that bears the burden.
Dominant property (predio dominante): the one that obtains the benefit.

The key point for a buyer is that the easement is attached to the property, not to the person (Art. 534 CC). If you buy a house that is subject to a right of way for the neighbour, the burden becomes yours; if you buy the property that benefits from that right of way, you acquire the right as well.

Exceptionally, the Civil Code also allows personal easements, created for the benefit of one or more people, or of a community, who do not own the burdened property (Art. 531 CC).

Types of easement: the classification that has consequences

The Civil Code classifies easements according to several criteria (Arts. 532, 533 and 536). This is not theory: the type determines how an easement is acquired and when it can affect you as a buyer.

Type	What it means	Why it matters to you
Continuous or discontinuous	Continuous: its use is, or can be, uninterrupted without human intervention (for example, light or a water conduit). Discontinuous: used at intervals and dependent on human acts (for example, a right of way).	Only easements that are continuous and apparent can be acquired through twenty years of use.
Apparent or non-apparent	Apparent: announced by visible external signs (a path, a door in a wall, a window, an exposed pipe). Non-apparent: no outward sign at all.	An apparent one can bind you even if it is not registered; a non-apparent one that the deed fails to mention gives you claims against the seller.
Positive or negative	Positive: they require the owner to allow something to be done or to do it. Negative: they prohibit the owner of the servient property from doing something they could otherwise do, such as building higher.	Negative easements are usually non-apparent and therefore need a title.
Statutory or voluntary	Statutory: imposed by law for public benefit or for the benefit of private parties. Voluntary: created by the owners' will.	Statutory easements can be demanded even if the neighbour objects, usually against payment of compensation.

Depending on their purpose, people also speak of rural easements (grazing, irrigation, farm tracks) and urban easements (light, views, drainage, party walls).

How an easement arises

By law: statutory and compulsory easements

Some easements are imposed directly by law and the neighbour cannot refuse them. The most common are:

Right of way for a landlocked property with no access to a public road: its owner can demand passage over neighbouring properties on payment of compensation (Art. 564 CC). If a permanent road is opened, compensation covers the value of the land occupied and the damage caused; if the passage is only for farming the land and taking out the harvest, without a permanent road, only the damage. The passage must run through the point that causes least harm and, as far as possible, by the shortest route to the road (Art. 565), with the width the property needs (Art. 566).
If you buy or sell part of a property: when the plot sold is left landlocked between other land of the seller, the seller must grant passage without compensation, unless otherwise agreed (Art. 567 CC).
Drainage of enclosed courtyards, subject to compensation (Art. 588).
Light and views: the law also limits what you can open towards the neighbouring property. Windows with direct views, balconies or projections over it cannot be opened unless there is a distance of two metres, nor can side or oblique views be had at less than 60 centimetres (Art. 582), unless the buildings are separated by a public road (Art. 584).

Public-utility easements (power lines, roads, the coastal public domain, etc.) are governed by their own special laws (Art. 550 CC) and do not always appear in the Registro de la Propiedad (Land Registry).

By the owners' decision: contract or will

Outside the statutory cases, every owner may create whatever easements they see fit over their property, provided they do not breach the law or public order (Art. 594 CC). They are usually agreed in a contract, for example by reserving a right of way when selling part of a property or agreeing on the route of a pipe, but they can also be created by will.

The creation of rights in rem over real estate must be recorded in a public document (Art. 1280 CC), but that form is not a condition of validity: a private agreement made for consideration binds the parties, and either of them can require the other to formalise it in a public deed (escritura pública) (Arts. 1278 and 1279 CC). What you cannot do without a public deed or a court decision is register the easement at the Land Registry (Art. 3 of the Ley Hipotecaria (Mortgage and Land Registry Act, LH)), and an unregistered easement is more exposed if the property is later sold, as explained below. If the easement is granted free of charge, it may be treated as a gift, which in the case of real estate must be made by public deed to be valid (Art. 633 CC). If the burdened property has several owners, all of them must consent (Art. 597 CC).

By apparent sign (the so-called destino del padre de familia)

If the owner of two properties sets up an apparent sign of an easement between them (a door, a path, a conduit) and then sells one of them, that sign counts as a title and the easement continues, unless the deed of sale says otherwise or the sign is removed before the deed is signed (Art. 541 CC). This is very common when inherited estates are divided and when land is split up for sale.

The Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court) clarified this in its judgment 1299/2025 of 24 September:

It is enough for the easement to be useful to the other property (it does not have to be indispensable), but that usefulness must be real and current for the purpose for which it was created.
To exclude it, the deed must state specifically that the property will not have that easement: a generic "free of charges" (libre de cargas) clause is not enough.
If that usefulness disappears, the easement loses its reason for existing and cannot be turned into a different, more burdensome one. In the case decided, the right of way served a barn that a fire had left unusable and that could not be rebuilt as a barn; its owners wanted to use it for a dwelling, and the Supreme Court upheld the first-instance judgment declaring the easement extinguished.

If you buy a property that benefits from a right of way of this kind and plan to change its use (for example, converting a farm building or barn into a home), do not assume the easement will cover the new use.

By continued use (prescription)

Under the Civil Code, only continuous and apparent easements can be acquired through twenty years of use (Art. 537). Continuous non-apparent easements and all discontinuous ones, including rights of way, arise only by title (Art. 539), and a missing title can only be replaced by a deed of acknowledgement from the owner of the burdened property or by a final judgment (Art. 540). In addition, what is done by the owner's mere tolerance does not count as possession (Arts. 444 and 1942 CC).

For negative easements, where they can be acquired by prescription, time does not start running simply as time passes: it starts on the day the owner of the dominant property, by a formal act, prohibited the owner of the servient property from doing what they could otherwise do (Art. 538).

Rights and obligations of each owner

The owner of the dominant property has all the rights needed to use the easement (Art. 542) and may carry out, at their own expense, the works needed to use and maintain it, without altering it or making it more burdensome, and choosing the time and manner that cause the least inconvenience (Art. 543).
The owner of the servient property may not impair its use. If the location or manner of exercise becomes very inconvenient or prevents important works, repairs or improvements, they may change it at their own expense, provided they offer another location or manner that is equally convenient and causes no harm to the dominant owner (Art. 545).

Blocking a right of way, putting up obstacles or, conversely, using the easement beyond what the title allows are the most common causes of litigation.

When an easement is extinguished

Under Article 546 CC, easements are extinguished:

When the same person becomes the owner of both properties.
By non-use for twenty years, counted from the last use for discontinuous easements, or from an act contrary to the easement for continuous ones.
When the properties reach a state in which the easement cannot be used; it revives if use becomes possible again before those twenty years have passed.
When the agreed term expires or the condition is met, if it was temporary or conditional.
By waiver of the owner of the dominant property.
By a buy-out agreed between both owners.

A compulsory right of way can also be extinguished when it is no longer needed, for example because a new road is opened, with the compensation received being returned (Art. 568). To cancel at the Land Registry an easement registered by virtue of a deed, as a general rule you need another deed with its holder's consent or a final judgment (Art. 82 of the Ley Hipotecaria).

Easements and property sales: what binds you even if it is not registered

For a burden to affect third parties, it must appear in the registration entry of the burdened property (Art. 13 LH); unregistered titles do not prejudice third parties (Art. 32 LH), and whoever buys in good faith and for value from the person shown in the Registry as owner, and registers the purchase, is protected (Art. 34 LH). In practice, this gives three scenarios:

Registered easement: it binds you. That is why it must appear in the nota simple (Land Registry extract).
Apparent, unregistered easement: the courts have consistently held that it also binds you, because its visible signs prevent you from claiming good faith. A marked path or a door opening onto the neighbour's land is a warning you cannot ignore.
Non-apparent, unregistered easement: in principle it does not prejudice a good-faith buyer who registers the purchase, unless the buyer knew about it, for example because the deed mentions it.

What to check before you buy

An up-to-date nota simple from the Land Registry. It must show, at least, the identification of the property, its owners and the extent, nature and limitations of the registered rights (Art. 222.5 LH). It is for information only; to prove charges against third parties, a registry certificate (certificación registral) is used (Art. 225 LH).
Written information before paying anything. If you are buying a home that is on the market, you can require, before the transaction is formalised and before any payment on account (including the deposit under an arras contract), the property's registry identification with its "charges, encumbrances and restrictions of any kind" (Art. 31.1.d of Ley 12/2023, por el derecho a la vivienda (Right to Housing Act)).
A careful site visit: paths, doors or openings in adjoining walls, windows overlooking the property, pipes, manholes, posts or power lines. Ask the neighbours who passes through and where. If the property has land, compare what you see with the PNOA orthophotos published by the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (Spain's national mapping agency), which include older flights: a path that already shows up in photos from years ago is a lead worth clarifying before you sign.
Planning and administrative information: ask the ayuntamiento (town hall) and, if there are power lines, roads or the coast nearby, ask about any administrative easements that may affect the property.
Clear clauses in the arras contract and the deed: identify each known easement (in whose favour, where it runs, how far it extends) and do not settle for a generic "free of charges". If you are the seller and do not want an easement to arise from an apparent sign, exclude it expressly or remove the sign before signing (Art. 541 CC).
Impact on the price: an easement can restrict the use of the property and reduce its market value, and it is a legitimate point of negotiation.

The notario (notary) checks the ownership and charges shown in the Registry immediately before authorising the deed (Art. 175 of the Reglamento Notarial (Notarial Regulations)), but cannot see what is not registered: the physical inspection is up to you.

If you have already bought and an easement comes to light

Situation	What you can do	Time limit
A non-apparent charge or easement, not mentioned in the deed, so significant that you would presumably not have bought had you known	Seek rescission of the contract or, if you prefer, compensation (Art. 1483 CC)	One year from the deed for either; after that year, compensation only, within one year of the day you discovered the charge
Someone blocks a right of way you used as of right (not if you merely crossed with the neighbour's tolerance, Art. 444 CC) or disturbs your possession	Summary protection of possession, the former interdicto (Art. 250.1.4 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (Civil Procedure Act, LEC))	One year from the disturbance or dispossession (Art. 439.1 LEC)
You dispute whether the easement exists, its scope or whether it has been extinguished	Declaratory action to confirm or deny the easement (acción confesoria or negatoria)	No short time limit; if you hold the easement, bear in mind that twenty years without using it extinguishes it (Art. 546 CC)

If the non-apparent charge was registered, the seller may argue that you could have found out by checking the Registry, so do not rely on Article 1483 alone: check the nota simple before signing. If you hold a registered right in rem, you can defend it through the fast-track procedure (juicio verbal) against anyone who disturbs it without a registered title (Art. 250.1.7 LEC).

The prior negotiation attempt (MASC)

Since 3 April 2025, before filing most civil claims you must have tried an appropriate dispute resolution method (medio adecuado de solución de controversias, MASC): direct negotiation or negotiation between lawyers, mediation, conciliation, the opinion of an independent expert or a confidential binding offer (Art. 5 of Ley Orgánica 1/2025, de 2 de enero, de medidas en materia de eficiencia del Servicio Público de Justicia (Organic Act 1/2025 on the efficiency of the Public Justice Service)). It is required for the routes in the first and third rows of the table, but not, among other cases, for summary protection of possession (second row) or to seek interim measures before filing the claim (Art. 5.2.e and 5.3).

How it affects your time limits (Art. 7 of the same Act):

The request to negotiate interrupts limitation periods or suspends time-bar periods for your claim while the negotiation lasts.
If the first meeting is not held or no written reply is received within 30 calendar days of the other party receiving the request, or when the negotiation ends without agreement, the limitation period starts running afresh and the time-bar period resumes where it stopped (Art. 7.1).
For the attempt to satisfy the requirement, the claim must be filed within one year of the unanswered request or of the end of the negotiation without agreement (Art. 7.3). That year does not extend the time limit for your claim itself, which prevails if it runs out first. Keep a particularly close eye on the Art. 1483 CC year.

In property disputes, one way to meet the requirement is conciliation before the land registrar, which can also be held, if you prefer, before a notary or the letrado de la Administración de Justicia (court clerk) (Art. 103 bis LH).

If the property is in Catalonia or another region with its own civil law

This article follows the Civil Code, which is the law that applies in Madrid. In Catalonia, Book Five of the Catalan Civil Code applies, with significant differences: no easement can be acquired by prescription (Art. 566-2.4), an easement over one's own property shown only by an apparent sign survives a sale only if it is expressly established (Art. 566-3.2), and non-use extinguishes it after ten years (Art. 566-11.1.a). Other regions with their own civil law, such as Aragon, also have specific rules, so check them if the property is located there.

Frequently asked questions

Does a neighbour who has crossed my land for years already have an easement?

Not merely by crossing it: a right of way is a discontinuous easement, which arises only by title (Art. 539 CC), and mere tolerance does not create rights. It is a different matter if there is a written title, an apparent sign set up by a former common owner of both properties (Art. 541), or if the neighbour's property is landlocked and they can demand a compulsory right of way against compensation (Art. 564).

Can I close the path or move it?

You cannot close it: the owner of the servient property may not impair the use of the easement. You can move it, at your own expense and only if you offer an equally convenient route that does not harm the dominant property (Art. 545 CC). The sensible approach is to agree it and record it in a public deed.

In short

Easements are not a problem in themselves: they are a tool for making better use of property and living alongside neighbours. Conflict arises when they are unknown or concealed. Before buying, ask, observe and document; before selling, disclose clearly and have it recorded in the deed.

If you are about to sign an arras contract or a deed for a property with paths, windows or shared installations, or you have just discovered a burden nobody mentioned, you can book a property law consultation and we will review the nota simple, the contract and the time limits with you before they expire. If you are still at the reservation stage, you may find our guide to the arras contract useful.

Legislation and sources

Before you apply this to your own case

This article is general information and reflects the rules in force on the date of publication. It is not legal advice on a specific matter: one nuance — a date, a tax residence, a single clause — can change the answer entirely. If your situation looks like the one described here, talk to us before you decide.

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Written by

Coda Nuance Legal

The Madrid law firm of Irene Cobo Navarro, lawyer

Advice in Spanish and English on tax, immigration, inheritance, property, employment and social security, and contracts. Published prices, a detailed quote before we start and direct contact with a person.

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