Easement vs Covenant: Difference and Comparison

We enter into several property agreements in everyday life. At times, it may be hard to choose the correct property law to enter. Easements and Covenants are two such property laws that confuse. While the two may seem similar, they vary considerably.

Key Takeaways

1. An easement is a legal right to use someone else’s property for a specific purpose, while Covenant is a legal agreement that imposes specific obligations on the property owner.
2. Easement benefits a specific property or individual, while Covenant benefits the community or a group of individuals.
3. An easement is a passive right, while Covenant is an active obligation.

Easement vs Covenant

The difference between an easement and a covenant is that an easement allows the individual to use another individual’s property. In contrast, a covenant is a common law that prohibits or encourages an action. Easements are affirmative. On the other hand, covenants are negative. 

An easement refers to a non-possessory right that allows an individual to enter into or use another individual’s property without owning it. There is a negative and affirmative easements. In addition, an easement has a dominant and servient estate. It may be public or private.

 A covenant refers to the promise to participate in or refrain from performing a particular action. Covenants related to land are classified as real covenants. Real covenants form a massive proportion of land covenants. In addition, covenants may exclude certain sections of the population based on race, religion, or ethnicity. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Easement	Covenant
Definition	An easement refers to a non possessory right that allows an individual to enter into or use the property of another individual without owning it.	A covenant refers to the promise to participate in or refrain from performing a certain action.
Components	It comprises a dominant and servient estate.	It comprises restricted land and benefited land.
Nature	Easements are affirmative in nature.	Covenants are negative in nature.
Implication on future owners	Easements cannot be imposed against future owners of land.	Covenants may be imposed against future owners of land.
Example	The provision of fishing in a private pond.	The limitations on the measurement of a building to be built in a particular area.

What is Easement?

An easement refers to a non-possessory right that allows an individual to enter into or use another individual’s property without owning it. In addition, easements provide accessibility to the property of another individual. An example is the provision of fishing in a private pond. Another instance is the provision of a public park or a public beach. 

Typically, there are four types of easements: the right of way, easements of light and air, easements of support, and rights about artificial waterways. Today, courts recognise a significant variety of easement laws. However, the four types of easements form the bulldog block of all the newly emerging easements. 

There is a negative and affirmative easements. A negative easement disallows the conduction of any unlawful or prohibited activity on private property. On the other hand, the positive easement allows an individual’s property usage for a specific purpose. An easement has a dominant and servient estate. 

The dominant estate refers to the individual or entity benefitting from the easement. In contrast, servient estate refers to the entity providing the benefits. In addition, an easement may be public or private. Public easement allows permission for the public to use a property. Private easement, on the other hand, is enjoyed by private individuals or entities. 

What is Covenant?

In its most basic sense, a covenant refers to the promise to participate in or refrain from performing a certain action. A covenant was differentiable from an ordinary contract by the presence of a seal. A covenant is similar to a contractual condition. The agreement may be negative or positive. 

A negative covenant is a law prohibiting an individual from engaging in a particular act. On the other hand, an affirmative covenant refers to a law that allows permission to engage in a specified action. Covenants related to land are real covenants. Real covenants form a massive proportion of land covenants. 

Covenants may exclude certain sections of the population based on race, religion, or ethnicity. They are mostly the disadvantaged or marginalised communities. Title covenants refer to the agreement that ensures that an individual receives the entity that he bargained for. Covenants come into existence for the benefit of common interest. 

Another example is the limitations on the measurement of a building to be constructed in a particular area. The land may be burdened or benefitted. Thus, covenants are ideally the restrictions or benefits received for an action. 

Main Differences Between Easement and Covenant 

1. An easement refers to a non-possessory right that allows an individual to enter into or use another individual’s property without owning it. On the other hand, a covenant refers to the promise to participate in or refrain from performing a particular action.
2. An easement comprises a dominant and servient estate. In contrast, a covenant consists of restricted land and benefited land.
3. Easements are affirmative. On the other hand, covenants are commonly negative. 
4. Easements cannot be imposed against future owners of the land. In contrast, covenants may be imposed against future owners of the land. 
5. An example of an easement is the provision of fishing in a private pond. On the other hand, an example of a covenant is the limitations on a building to be built in a particular area.

References

1. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iYNMpznJGeEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=covenant+vs+easement&ots=A4VRV3YH63&sig=S0Ssy8WGkkV-a0y1i9wRyqaADTw 
2. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/waslee43&section=23