An easement appurtenant—also known as an appurtenant easement, an appendant easement, or a pure easement—is an easement created to benefit another tract of land, with the use of the easement being incident to the ownership of that other tract of land.

An easement appurtenant benefits one tract of land (the dominant estate or tenement) to the detriment or burden of the other tract of land (the servient estate or tenement).

Easements appurtenant are attached to the land (are said to “run with the land”) and are automatically transferred when either the dominant estate or the servient estate is sold or transferred to a new owner.

In Iowa, an easement appurtenant is recognized as a type of property interest that provides the holder of the easement the right to use a portion of another's land for a specific purpose. This right is beneficial to the dominant estate, which is the property that benefits from the easement, and is a burden on the servient estate, which is the property over which the easement runs. Easements appurtenant are considered to 'run with the land,' meaning they are tied to the property itself rather than to the individual owner. Therefore, when either the dominant or servient property is sold or transferred, the easement appurtenant automatically passes to the new owner. These easements are typically created by a written agreement and recorded in the county recorder's office to provide notice of the easement to future owners and interested parties. Iowa law requires that the terms and conditions of the easement be clearly defined and observed by all parties involved.