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 Kentucky, an easement appurtenant is a type of property interest that allows the holder of the easement the right to use a portion of another's property for a specific purpose that benefits the holder's adjacent land, known as the dominant estate. The property that is subject to the use is called the servient estate. These easements are considered to 'run with the land,' meaning they are tied to the property itself rather than to the individual owner, and they pass automatically to new owners when either the dominant or servient property is sold or otherwise transferred. Kentucky law recognizes easements appurtenant, and they are typically created by a written agreement recorded in the county where the property is located, though they can also arise by necessity, implication, or prescription under certain circumstances. The creation, transfer, and termination of easements appurtenant in Kentucky are governed by state statutes and case law, and they must be respected by current and future owners of the affected properties.