If you're planning on building a new garage, one thing you should do is check into your property's easements. Many people don't know what easements are, much less whether their property contains any. This lack of recognition can lead to big problems for construction projects.
What Is an Easement?
An easement is a type of legal right. Specifically, it's the right of some other entity to use part of your property. For example, if you have a neighbor who can only access the main road by driving through your property, they likely have an easement that gives them the right to drive through your land to get to theirs; this is more common in rural areas where land parcels may be large and irregularly-shaped.
Another very common type of easement is a utility easement. Electrical and telephone lines, water and sewer pipes, cable lines, and other public utility services often run through private land; in order to ensure that the utility company can access their lines for maintenance and repair, they are given the right to access that portion of your land.
What If You Discover an Easement Where You Want to Build?
These easements are important because it's illegal to block access to them. Take a utility easement, for example. If you build a garage over a buried telephone line easement, you've blocked the telephone company's access. If they need to come and dig up the line for repairs, your garage will have to be demolished, and you'll have to pay for it.
It's possible to have easements on property removed. If your neighbor has an easement on your property that they no longer use, you can ask them to agree to have it removed; you'll need to have this legally documented, so consult an attorney. An attorney can also help you if you want to challenge your neighbor's easement. It's not worthwhile to try to challenge a utility easement, however, as the ability of the utility company to conduct repairs is a public good and will always trump your desire to build a structure.
Where Is Information about Easements Kept?
Easements are recorded on the deed to your property. If you don't have a copy of your deed, you should be able to find one on file with your local county clerk. You can also contact your county or city zoning commission.
Not all easements are recorded, unfortunately. If you notice utility lines or know that there are utility pipes on your property but can't find any easement in the records, that doesn't mean that the utility company doesn't have one. You should contact the relevant utility company to see if they have what is known as an unrecorded easement.
Building a new garage on your property can involve a lot of regulations. Hiring a contractor like Iowa Sheds with experience in garage building will help you through not only understanding easements but also dealing with building permits and regulations as well as zoning laws.
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