Land use and encumbrances
Easement by prescription
A use right earned by open, continuous, unpermitted use over the statutory period
Someone who uses a strip of a neighbor’s land openly, continuously and without permission for the period the state sets may acquire a legal right to keep doing it. It is the easement cousin of adverse possession, and it produces a right of use rather than ownership.
How the exam asks about it
The distinguishing detail against adverse possession: prescription gives a right to use, adverse possession gives title. Permission from the owner defeats both, which is why owners grant revocable licenses to head this off.
Related terms
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