If your land can only be accessed through a neighbouring property, if a neighbour has blocked a road that has traditionally been used, or if someone is seeking to establish a road across your land, the key question is always the same: what are your rights and how can you protect them?
Disputes concerning road easements do not resolve themselves. They directly affect the use of property, its value, and the ability to sell, mortgage or develop it.
Recently, in our legal practice, we have dealt with several cases and court findings that may be useful in practice. This article primarily explains how a road easement is established, what each party may and may not do, what the Senate of the Supreme Court has held regarding road easements, and when it is appropriate to seek legal assistance.
What Is a Road Easement?
An easement is a right over another person’s property that restricts the owner’s rights of use for the benefit of a specific person or a specific immovable property (Section 1130 of the Civil Law). A road easement gives a person the right to use land belonging to another person in order to access their own property.
The property for whose benefit the easement has been established is referred to as the dominant property. The property across which the road passes is referred to as the servient property. An easement does not make the user an owner of the land; it merely restricts the rights of the owner of the servient property.
A road easement may include a right of footpath, livestock path or carriageway (Section 1156 of the Civil Law). If the width of the road has not been specified when the easement is established, a footpath must be one metre wide, while a livestock path or carriageway must be at least four and a half metres wide (Section 1158 of the Civil Law).
In simple terms, an easement is a road or path used to access your property. If access is required on foot, it must be one metre wide; if access is required by vehicle, it must be at least 4.5 metres wide.
Which Situation Applies to You?
In practice, clients usually approach us in one of four typical situations. Each requires a different course of action.
Your Property Has No Access
Your land plot is located behind another property and the only way to reach a public road is across a neighbour’s land.
If the neighbour does not agree to a voluntary arrangement, an easement may be established through court proceedings. In court, it is necessary to prove not only that access is necessary, but also where the road should be located and what its scope should be.
In practice, it is common for a road to have existed and been used for more than 20 years without any dispute, only for the parties to later discover that the road has never been properly registered in the Land Register.
Such legally unresolved situations frequently become the basis for other disputes because, once it is discovered that the road has not been properly formalised, this may create an opportunity for one neighbour to cause difficulties for the other.
A Neighbour Is Seeking a Road Across Your Land
You are not obliged to agree to any road location or width proposed by your neighbour.
In court, it may be argued that the easement is not necessary or that it should be established in another location that places a smaller burden on your property, with appropriate restrictions on its use.
An easement cannot be established merely because a particular route would make access to someone’s property more convenient. The Supreme Court has held that an easement should not be established solely for reasons of convenience.
The parties may, of course, voluntarily agree to such an arrangement, but a court is more restricted and must assess whether the road is genuinely necessary and precisely where and in what manner it should be established.
In practice, it is important to prepare for different scenarios even before such a dispute reaches the court.
An Easement Has Been Established, but the Neighbour Interferes With Its Use
The owner of the servient property may not unilaterally prevent or obstruct the use of a lawfully established easement.
Locked gates, machinery placed across the road, or a ditch excavated across it may constitute grounds for action — initially by submitting a formal claim or demand and, if that does not resolve the matter, by applying to court.
Temporary legal protection is currently particularly effective in such cases. Before issuing a final judgment, a court may establish a specific temporary procedure, location and method for accessing a property.
Our office has recently handled two such cases in which the court granted temporary protection prohibiting the obstruction of a long-established access arrangement — specifically, prohibiting the blocking of an existing road even though its legal status had not yet been properly formalised.
The Easement Burdens Your Property or Is No Longer Necessary
If the easement holder uses the road beyond the scope for which the easement was established, or if circumstances have changed and the easement no longer provides any benefit to the dominant property, it may be possible to seek restrictions on its use, modification of the easement, or its termination.
Our office has handled two cases of this kind.
In one case, two land plots were consolidated, thereby providing the newly formed land unit with direct access to a state road. Our law firm consequently applied to court and successfully sought termination of the historical easement because the grounds for maintaining it had ceased to exist.
In another case, the local municipality constructed a new municipal road providing access to a neighbouring property through another area, thereby ensuring independent access to the neighbouring land unit.
Accordingly, where the need for an easement ceases to exist, courts may decide to terminate it.
In all of these situations, the first step is the same: review the Land Register entry and the documents by which the easement was established.
ZAB EmRo carries out such assessments and provides a specific recommended course of action.
How Is a Road Easement Established?
An easement may be established by law, court judgment, contract or testament (Section 1231 of the Civil Law).
In practice, road easements are most commonly established either by agreement between property owners or, where no agreement can be reached, by a court.
Importantly, the fact that a road has been used in practice for many years does not, in itself, mean that an easement has been legally established.
An easement as a property right is established and becomes binding on both parties once it has been entered in the Land Register.
In each individual case, several legal interests must be balanced, including the necessity of access and the interests of the owner of the affected immovable property.
Agreement
If the neighbours are able to reach an agreement, the easement is established by contract and registered in the Land Register.
There is no specifically prescribed form or mandatory set of terms for such an agreement, but our office recommends agreeing on the following key matters:
- the location and width of the easement road, together with an attached surveyor’s plan;
- the permitted manner of use and any applicable restrictions;
- the procedure for maintenance and repair of the road and the allocation of costs where the easement is used by several persons.
Court Judgment
If no agreement can be reached, the court decides whether to establish the easement.
The court assesses the specific properties, available access options and the interests of both parties.
An easement must be exercised in good faith and, as far as possible, in a manner that causes the least possible burden to the servient property (Section 1139 of the Civil Law). In cases of doubt, an easement must be presumed to exist only to the minimum necessary extent (Section 1132 of the Civil Law).
What Has the Senate of the Supreme Court Held Regarding Road Easements?
A Court May Impose Restrictions on the Use of an Easement
In case SKC-341/2025, the Senate held that, when establishing a compulsory road easement, a court may, taking into account all circumstances of the case, simultaneously impose restrictions on the actual use of the easement in terms of time, location or manner of use (cf. Section 1137 of the Civil Law).
One example considered was an obligation on the easement user to close a gate on the easement road in order to prevent livestock from leaving an enclosed area.
Practical significance: the owner of the servient property has grounds to request specific conditions of use during the proceedings rather than accepting unrestricted use of the road.
Such restrictions must be objective and legally justified.
Our office has encountered cases in which requests for restrictions were driven more by emotion than by genuine necessity. In such cases, courts generally refuse to impose the requested restrictions.
The Owner of the Servient Property Does Not Need to Bring a Counterclaim
In case SKC-215/2025, judgment of 16 December 2025, the Senate held that the right to request establishment of an easement forms part of the rights of the owner of the dominant property rather than the owner of the servient property.
The owner of the servient property protects their interests in achieving the least burdensome road location by objecting to the solution proposed by the claimant and proposing an alternative, rather than by filing a counterclaim.
If the court establishes the road in a location different from that requested by the claimant and instead follows the alternative proposed by the defendant, the claim is regarded as having been partially upheld.
This directly affects the allocation of litigation costs between the parties.
Practical significance: choosing the correct procedural defence may reduce costs and improve the prospects of achieving a road location that better protects the defendant’s property interests.
Where Should the Easement Road Be Located?
Often, the dispute is not about whether an easement is necessary but about precisely where the road should be located.
For example, one route may be shorter but place a greater burden on the neighbouring property, while another route may be longer but less disruptive.
The court considers:
- actual access conditions and existing roads;
- terrain, drainage systems and the location of buildings;
- the intended use of both land plots;
- construction and maintenance costs of the road;
- safety and the impact on the servient property.
The outcome of a case often depends on how convincingly these circumstances are proven, including through plans, surveying data, photographs and, where necessary, expert evidence.
In one case handled by our office, the court approved a road location that was actually longer and occupied a larger area of the property because the court considered it important that the road should not pass directly through the residential yard.
In another recent case, the court decided that the road should be 5.5 metres wide after the claimant successfully justified this requirement on safety grounds.
What Should You Do If a Neighbour Blocks an Easement Road?
Do not take matters into your own hands. Breaking gates or removing obstacles yourself may create an additional dispute.
First, determine:
- whether the easement has been entered in the Land Register;
- the precise content, location and width of the easement;
- what restrictions are specified in the document establishing the easement;
- whether the neighbour is restricting the easement on lawful grounds or is simply physically blocking access.
Preserve evidence, including dated photographs and videos, correspondence and the contact details of witnesses.
The next step will usually be to obtain a legal assessment of whether there are grounds to apply to the court for temporary protection pending a final judgment or to take other legal action in order to prevent the infringement.
How Can ZAB EmRo Help?
Since 2012, ZAB EmRo has specialised in litigation and real estate law, including disputes concerning easements.
We represent clients at all levels of court, including before the Senate of the Supreme Court.
We:
- assess Land Register entries, documents establishing easements and the prospects of your case;
- prepare easement agreements and arrange their registration in the Land Register;
- conduct negotiations with neighbours and prepare formal legal claims and notices;
- prepare claims for the establishment, modification or termination of easements;
- defend owners of servient properties where claims have been brought against them;
- represent clients in appellate and cassation proceedings.
Frequently Asked Questions About Road Easements
Does an easement mean that another person becomes the owner of the land?
No. An easement does not create ownership rights over the servient land. It is a restriction on the owner’s right to use their property.
Does a road easement pass to a new owner?
Yes, if it is a real (property-related) easement. A real easement is attached to the dominant property rather than to a particular owner, so it remains in place when the property is sold. Before buying a property, it is advisable to check whether access to it is legally secured.
Must a road easement be entered in the Land Register?
Yes. An easement as a property right is established and becomes binding on both parties once it is entered in the Land Register (Article 1235 of the Civil Law). An oral agreement or long-term use does not provide this protection.
May anyone use the easement road?
No. A real easement may be used for the needs of the dominant property, and a personal easement for the benefit of the person for whom it was established. Third parties do not acquire independent rights under the easement. The easement road may only be used by persons who need to reach the dominant property.
Can a neighbour demand payment for the use of the road?
Current case law does not provide for payment for an easement, although the parties are free to agree on it in a contract.
How long do court proceedings concerning a road easement take?
The duration depends on the complexity of the case, the volume of evidence and whether the judgment is appealed. It is therefore essential to choose the claim and evidence correctly from the outset so that the case does not have to be heard again.
Conclusion
A road easement is not merely permission to drive across a neighbour’s land. It is a legal arrangement that governs how two properties are used over the long term. Correcting mistakes in a contract or in court proceedings is more expensive than preventing them.
If you have a dispute with a neighbour about access to your property, if you have been asked to sign an easement agreement, or if a claim for the establishment of an easement has been brought against you, please contact ZAB EmRo. We will assess your situation and propose a specific, legally sound solution.