NCEES PS Practice Exam

The key idea is a non-possessory interest that lets someone use another person’s land for a specific purpose without transferring ownership. An easement gives that kind of right—think of crossing a neighbor’s property, laying utilities, or accessing a private road. The document that formalizes this arrangement is an easement deed, which records the right, its scope, and the lands involved, and it typically runs with the land so future owners are bound by it. The owner still holds title and can use the land in ways that don’t conflict with the easement.

Deeds that transfer ownership, such as those that promise clear title or convey whatever interest the grantor has, do not create a stand-alone right of use. They move ownership rather than grant a specific right of use. So the instrument describing a right to use land for a particular purpose without giving up ownership is an easement deed.