A California neighbor has used a strip of an adjacent owner's land to access a hiking trail for seven continuous years. The use was open, notorious, hostile, and without the owner's permission. Which property right, if any, can the neighbor claim under California law?
Correct Answer
D) A prescriptive easement, because the required period of qualifying use has been met
A prescriptive easement in California is established through use that is open, notorious, continuous, hostile, and under claim of right for a statutory period of 5 years under California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 318-325. Unlike adverse possession, a prescriptive easement does NOT require payment of property taxes during the prescriptive period. The claimant gains only a right to use the property for the specific purpose established during the prescriptive period — not title to the land itself.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
Key Terms:
Related Concepts
An easement is a legal right to use another person's land for a specific purpose without owning it. It is a nonpossessory interest in real property that typically runs with the land.
An easement by necessity is created by court order when a property is landlocked and has no access to a public road. It arises from the necessity of accessing the property, not from long-term use.
An easement by prescription is acquired through continuous, open, notorious, hostile, and uninterrupted use of another's land for a statutory period. It is similar to adverse possession but grants use rights, not ownership.
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Previous Question
In California, a property has an easement appurtenant for a shared driveway between two properties. The owner of the servient tenement wants to plant trees that would block the driveway. Under California law, can the servient tenement owner do this?
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