Film Locations Glossary
Easement
What is an easement?
An easement is a legal right for someone other than the owner to use part of a property, such as a utility company's access strip or a neighbor's right to cross a driveway.
It matters on location because the person who signed the agreement may not control the whole site. Discovering an easement on the shoot day, when a utility crew arrives to exercise it, is a lost morning.
Example
A homeowner signs for a rural property, and on the shoot day a utility crew arrives to exercise its access easement across the drive. Nobody asked, the title was never checked, and the morning is spent moving trucks.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Checked at prep by asking who else has rights over the site, not only who owns it.
Common mistake
Confirming who owns the location and never asking who else has rights over it. A utility exercising its access easement on the shoot day is nobody's fault but everybody's problem.
Related questions
- How does an easement affect filming?
- The owner who signed may not control the whole site. A third party with an access right can turn up and exercise it in the middle of a shooting day.
- How do you find out about easements?
- Ask the owner directly who else has rights of access, and on significant locations check the title rather than relying on the answer.