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 Rhode Island, an affirmative easement, also known as a positive easement, is a legal right that allows the holder of the easement to use another person's property for a specific purpose. This right is typically granted through a written agreement and recorded in the land records to provide notice of the easement's existence. The property benefiting from the easement is called the dominant estate, while the property over which the easement runs is referred to as the servient estate. The use of the servient estate by the dominant estate is limited to the terms defined in the easement agreement. For instance, if a landowner has an affirmative easement to discharge water onto an adjoining property, the servient estate must allow this use. It's important to note that easements are binding on subsequent owners of the servient estate and typically 'run with the land,' meaning they are permanent unless legally terminated or abandoned.