An easement is an interest in land that is owned by another person and gives the easement holder or easement owner the right to use or control the other person’s land in some limited way—such as the right to drive across another person’s private property to access a public highway or other public road (an ingress-and-egress easement).

There are many different types of easements, depending on the nature of the use of the land—such light-and-air easements; mineral easements; timber easements; noise easements; and railroad easements—and how the easement was acquired—an express easement; an implied easement; a prescriptive easement; an easement by necessity; or an easement by estoppel, for example.

There are also negative easements that prohibit the owner of a property (the servient-estate) from doing something, such as building a home or structure that blocks the view or sunlight for an easement holder—often an adjoining property owner (the dominant estate).

Public utility companies (gas, electricity, telephone, water, sewer, cable, etc.) often have easements to place utility transmission, distribution, or power lines on private property and access them for installation, repair, and maintenance.

Laws regarding easements vary from state to state and may be located in a state’s court opinions (also known as its common law or case law) or in its statutes.

In Idaho, an easement is a non-possessory right to use or control land owned by someone else for a specific purpose. Easements can be created for various uses, such as access to another property (ingress-and-egress), light and air, mineral rights, timber, noise control, and for utilities. They can be established in several ways, including express easements (written agreements), implied easements (from circumstances), prescriptive easements (through continuous use over time), easements by necessity (essential for access), and easements by estoppel (based on the landowner's actions). Negative easements restrict the landowner from performing certain actions that could affect the easement holder, like obstructing a view or sunlight. Utility companies often hold easements for installing and maintaining infrastructure. Idaho's regulations on easements are derived from both statutory law and common law (court opinions), and the specifics of creating, transferring, and terminating easements, as well as resolving disputes, are governed by these laws.