At Texas Horizons Law Group, our team of experienced real estate attorneys understands the complexities of property ownership, including the unique challenges associated with landlocked property. This helpful guide will explain everything you need to know about landlocked properties, from their basic definition to potential solutions for gaining access.
What Does Landlocked Property Mean?
Landlocked property refers to a parcel of land that lacks direct access to a public road. It’s essentially surrounded by neighboring properties, making it inaccessible without crossing someone else's land. This situation can arise due to various reasons, including the following:
Subdivision of Land
When a large piece of land is divided and sold off in smaller parcels, one or more parcels might end up without a designated road leading to the public thoroughfare.
Changes in Ownership
Property can change hands over time. If a new owner acquires a parcel that historically had access through another property now under different ownership, the new parcel could become landlocked.
Natural Features
In rare cases, natural features like rivers, mountains, or bodies of water can leave a property inaccessible by road.
As an example, imagine that Amanda owns 100 acres of land with access to a public road. She sells the back 25 acres (Tract B) to Bert, retaining the front 75 acres (Tract A) with direct access to the public road. This would mean that Tract B doesn’t have direct access to the public road.
What Is the Value of an Acre of Landlocked Property?
The value of an acre of landlocked property can be significantly lower compared to a similar-sized parcel with direct road access. The lack of accessibility limits potential uses and development options, impacting its market value.
Buying Landlocked Property
While landlocked property can present challenges, it’s still possible to buy and own such land. However, it’s important to conduct thorough due diligence before purchasing. You’ll want to make it a point to perform the following tasks:
- Review Property Records: Carefully examine the property title and any recorded easements to determine legal access rights.
- Conduct a Survey: A land survey will clearly show the property boundaries and confirm whether it's landlocked.
- Talk to Neighbors: Speaking with neighboring landowners can provide valuable insight into historical access arrangements and potential solutions.
Ultimately, your decision to buy a parcel of landlocked property will come down to your intended use for the land and your willingness to hold property with a lower-than-normal market value.
Is It Legal to Sell Landlocked Property?
It’s perfectly legal to sell landlocked property. That said, sellers have a legal obligation to disclose the landlocked status to potential buyers. This disclosure must be unambiguous, usually included in the sales contract.
Can You Build on Landlocked Property?
Whether you can build on a landlocked property or not depends on a couple of key factors:
- Local Zoning Regulations: Zoning ordinances might restrict development on land without legal access.
- Obtaining an Easement: Securing an easement from a neighboring property owner could provide the necessary access for construction or other modifications.
If you have any doubts, it’s a good idea to consult a qualified real estate attorney for guidance on how you can legally use your property.
Can You Deny Access to Landlocked Property?
In most cases, the owner of a landlocked property has a legal right to access their land. If you own the surrounding property, denying them access entirely could be considered a violation of their easement rights.
How to Gain Access to Landlocked Property
There are two ways to access landlocked property. The first is to obtain an easement, which will require you to negotiate with the owner of the property you wish to use.
Alternatively, if your landlocked property is surrounded by private holdings, working out terms of access with your neighbors could be a solution. A verbal agreement might be sufficient, though it’s best to formalize it with an easement document to solidify the arrangement and protect both parties from disagreements.
Luckily, Texas law makes every attempt to prevent a parcel of land being landlocked as a matter of public policy. When a landlocked property is created through subdivision, Texas law implies an easement over and across the original parcel in many cases, to ensure access to the subdivided land.
What Is an Easement?
An easement is a legal agreement that grants a specific right to use a portion of someone else's property for a particular purpose. It’s essentially a carve-out within the ownership rights of the underlying land. Easements are crucial for ensuring access and fair use of various properties, especially in situations where there are landlocked parcels.
Here are some key characteristics of easements:
Non-Possessory Interest
The easement holder doesn't own the land itself but rather has a legal right to use a designated area for a specific purpose, such as accessing roads or utility lines.
Benefiting a Specific Property
Easements are typically "appurtenant," meaning they’re attached to a specific piece of land (the dominant estate) and benefit its use. They generally transfer automatically to future owners of the dominant estate. This is commonly referred to as “running” with the land.
Limited Scope
Easements grant specific rights, not full ownership rights. The agreement will clearly outline the permitted uses, frequency of access, and any restrictions on the easement holder's activities.
Durable Agreements
Easements are typically permanent legal agreements, although some might be temporary depending on the specific circumstances.
Types of Easements
The following table provides a general overview of the various types of easements and how they’re established:
Here’s more information on the different types of easements that can allow the owner of a landlocked parcel of land to gain access to their property.
1. Express Easement
As mentioned, this is the most common and straightforward type of easement. It requires only a formal written agreement between the landlocked property owner and the neighboring landowner. The agreement outlines the specific rights granted for access (e.g., location, width, and permitted uses of the easement). These types of easements are most commonly signed, notarized, and recorded in the Official Public Records of the County where the land lies.
2. Implied Easement
An implied easement is created through necessity and historical use. For example, if the owner of a landlocked property historically accessed the public road through a specific neighboring property, there might be an implied easement for continued use. Or when a property is subdivided, an easement may be implied to access any landlocked property created by the subdivision.
3. Easement by Necessity
Easement by necessity is implied by law and arises when a property is completely landlocked and has no other reasonable way to access a public road. It’s the most compelling argument a landlocked property owner can make, but it can be challenged in court if there are viable alternatives for access.
Let’s apply the elements of an easement by necessity to our original example.
Bert, the landlocked landowner, would need to prove the following to the court:
- Tract B was owned in common with Tract A as a larger 100-acre tract of land.
- Tract B lacks access to a public road, and an access easement is therefore necessary for Bert to have access to a public road.
- When Amanda subdivided the 100-acre tract of land and conveyed Tract B to Bert, Tract B lacked access to a public road.
After considering these facts and the legal requirements for an easement by necessity, a court may declare an access easement across Tract A for use by Tract B.
4. Easement by Estoppel
This arrangement arises from a verbal or written agreement, followed by reliance on that agreement by the landlocked property owner, resulting in an equitable estoppel preventing the neighboring landowner from revoking access.
While verbal agreements are permissible, they’re generally discouraged due to the high potential for disputes. It’s always best to have a written easement agreement.
Going back to our example of Amanda and Bert, let’s assume that instead of including an access easement in the deed conveying Tract B to Bert, Amanda merely tells Bert he’ll have an access easement over a particular driveway on Tract A to access the adjacent public road.
Noticing that Tract B is otherwise landlocked, Bert still decides to purchase it from Amanda because she told him he would have an access easement across the driveway on Tract A.
Bert builds a home on Tract B and uses the driveway across Tract A for access to and from the public road. Two weeks later, Amanda tells Bert to stop using the driveway and that he can no longer cross Tract A to access the public road.
Amanda may be “estopped,” or prevented, from denying the existence of an access easement across Tract A for use as access between Tract B and the public road if Bert can prove the following to the court:
- Amanda told Bert he could use the driveway to access the public road.
- Bert believed what Amanda told him regarding the use of the driveway.
- Bert purchased Tract B from Amanda and subsequently built a home on it because he relied on Amanda’s statement that he could use the driveway for access.
In this case, the court would likely uphold the easement providing access between Tract B and the public road.
5. Prescriptive Easement
A prescriptive easement is established through the continual and unobstructed use of another person’s property for a defined period (as determined by state law) with that person’s knowledge but without their express permission or objection. In other words, the non-landowner accesses the property for so long that they gain the formal legal right to continue doing so.
The specific requirements for establishing a prescriptive easement vary by state. For instance, the Texas Property Code requires the use to be "adverse" (meaning without permission), "open and notorious" (meaning obvious and well-known), and "continuous and uninterrupted" for the statutory period (generally 10 years, but many factors apply in this instance).
Returning once more to our example of Amanda and Bert, the following conditions would have to apply for Bert to succeed in gaining a prescriptive access easement claim:
- Bert openly and visibly used the driveway area on Tract A for access between Tract B and the public road.
- Bert’s use of the driveway was continuous for at least 10 years.
- Neither Amanda nor any other person used the driveway area on Tract A.
Let’s say Amanda didn’t give Bert permission to access the driveway area on Tract A, and Bert hostilely used the area anyway.
A “hostile” use may include Bert fencing and gating the easement area on Tract A or ignoring “no trespassing” signs posted on Tract A near the driveway area. Given the facts that must exist to establish a prescriptive access easement, Bert would likely prevail.
If private negotiations for obtaining an express access easement fail and a claimant doesn’t prevail in court on an implied easement claim, the third and final option for obtaining legal access to a public road is by statute.
6. Statutory Easement
Under the Texas Transportation Code, a landowner can ask a commissioner's court to declare and build a public road when no public access exists.
Specifically, Section 251.053 states, “A person who owns real property to which there is no public road or other public means of access may request that an access road be established connecting the person’s real property to the county public road system by making a sworn application to the commissioner's court requesting the court to establish the road.”
The procedures for seeking the declaration of a public road under the Texas Transportation Code are as follows:
- The owner of a landlocked property must file a sworn application with the commissioners court requesting that the court establish a public road.
- After the application is filed, the county clerk must give notice to all property owners who would be affected by the construction of the requested public road.
- The court holds a hearing on the application.
- The court may (but is not required to) issue an order creating a public road if the court finds that the landowner has no access to their real property.
If the court issues such an order, a jury must determine the damages to property owners affected by the opening of the public road, and the county must pay all costs in connection with the proceedings.
The county must initially make the road suitable for use as an access public road but isn’t responsible for maintaining the road after that.
What Happens If an Easement Can’t Be Obtained?
While easements are the most common solution for landlocked property, there may be situations where reaching an agreement with neighboring landowners proves impossible. Here are some alternative (though possibly less desirable) approaches to consider.
Negotiating to Purchase the Neighboring Land
If a portion of the neighboring property is strategically located, the landlocked property owner might inquire whether it’s available for purchase. Buying part of the land could allow them to create a direct access route to the public road.
Relocating the Access Point
Depending on the property layout and surrounding features, creating a new access point on the existing landlocked parcel might be an option. However, this could involve significant construction costs, along with requiring permits and zoning approvals.
Other Creative Solutions
In certain situations, property owners might explore innovative solutions like building bridges or working out access agreements with multiple landowners. However, these options require careful planning and feasibility studies and potentially involve complex legal negotiations.
