An easement can be established on a property where one person holds ownership rights for the benefit of another person, as a lesser real right. An easement is the right of the owner of one immovable property (dominant estate) to perform certain actions on the immovable property of another owner (servient estate) or to demand that the owner of the servient estate refrain from performing certain actions they would otherwise have the right to perform on their own property. An easement can be established for a specified period or for a certain time of the year.
The legislator has aimed to protect the interests of the owner of the servient estate and has provided that the easement should be used in a way that minimally burdens the servient estate. Easement rights are established by a legal transaction, a decision by a state authority, or by possession. The contract establishing an easement must be concluded in the form of a notarially certified (solemnized) document, upon which the easement right is then registered in the relevant land registry for immovable property.
An easement is established by a court decision or a decision by another state authority when the owner of the dominant estate cannot use that estate fully or partially without appropriate use of the servient estate. Upon the request of the owner of the servient estate, the relevant state authority determines the appropriate compensation to be paid by the owner of the dominant estate to the owner of the servient estate. Based on the court decision, the easement right is acquired on the day the decision becomes final.
An easement is acquired by possession when the owner of the dominant estate has been using the easement for a period of 20 years and the owner of the servient estate has not objected, provided that it was not done through abuse of trust, force, fraud, or similar acts. In this case, the owner of the dominant estate has the right to file a lawsuit to establish the existence of this right against the owner of the servient estate.
When an easement exists, and the owner of the servient estate unjustifiably and without cause prevents the owner of the dominant estate from exercising this right, the owner of the dominant estate can file a lawsuit to request that the obstruction or hindrance cease.
An easement ceases if the owner of the servient estate opposes its exercise, and the owner of the dominant estate has not exercised their right for three consecutive years; if it is not exercised for the period necessary to acquire it by possession (20 years); when the same person becomes the owner of both the dominant and servient estates; or in the case of the destruction of the dominant or servient estate. The owner of the servient estate can request the termination of the easement right when it becomes unnecessary for the use of the dominant estate or when the other reason for which it was established ceases.