An affirmative easement (also known as a positive easement) is an interest in another person’s land that allows the easement holder or easement owner (the dominant estate) to use the other person’s property (often an adjoining property) for a limited purpose.

For example, a landowner (the dominant estate) may have an affirmative easement that requires the owner of the adjoining property (the servient estate) to permit a limited use of the servient estate, such as discharging water or grass that has been cut onto the servient estate.

The terminology of the dominant estate and the servient estate is best understood by focusing on the use permitted by the easement. The dominant estate is the property with the right to use the servient estate (which is serving the dominant estate in some way).

In Illinois, an affirmative easement, or positive easement, is a property interest that allows the holder (the dominant estate) to use another person's land (the servient estate) for a specific purpose. This type of easement is typically created through a written agreement and recorded with the county recorder's office to provide notice of the easement's existence to potential buyers and others dealing with the property. The easement is binding on subsequent owners of the servient estate and generally remains in effect until it is terminated by the terms of the easement agreement, through a release by the easement holder, by abandonment, by the merger of the dominant and servient estates, or by other legal means. Illinois law, including state statutes and case law, governs the creation, interpretation, and enforcement of easements. An attorney can provide specific advice on creating an easement, resolving disputes, or terminating an easement in accordance with Illinois law.