Property ownership glossary

An easement in gross benefits a holder rather than another parcel

A utility line crossing private land is the standard clue. The utility receives the right, and no neighboring parcel needs to be labeled dominant.

Last updated: August 1, 2026

Easement in gross: definition first

Direct answer: An easement in gross is a nonpossessory right to use land that benefits a person, company, or organization rather than a dominant parcel. The land subject to the right is the servient tenement, but there is no dominant tenement. Commercial easements in gross are commonly assignable, while a personal easement can be limited by its terms and governing law. Do not use a blanket rule that every easement in gross ends when the original holder changes.

Why it is on the exam: PSI includes easements, rights of way, licenses, and their effect on title, value, and use in Property Ownership. In-gross questions test whether the benefit attaches to a holder or a parcel and whether the servient owner's sale ends the burden.

Benefit belongs to

Person or entity

Burdened land

Servient tenement

Dominant tenement

None

Classic example

Utility easement

Find where the easement benefit lands

Decision point	Easement in gross	Easement appurtenant
Benefit holder	A person, company, or organization	A dominant parcel
Parcel structure	Servient land, no dominant tenement	Dominant and servient tenements
Common example	Electric utility's line right	Driveway access benefiting Parcel A across Parcel B
Transfer focus	Grant terms, commercial or personal nature, and law	Benefit and burden generally follow the two parcels

Use the beneficiary test before counting parcels

A utility company may hold the right to install, inspect, maintain, and replace lines on private property. The right benefits the utility's operations. It is not appurtenant merely because the utility also owns nearby land or because the easement remains for many years.

The servient owner retains title and compatible use. The grant controls route, width, facilities, access, vegetation, restoration, and other scope. The utility does not receive general possession of the parcel simply because its easement is commercial and durable.

Name the right holder.
Ask whether a separate parcel receives the benefit.
If no parcel benefits, label only the servient tenement.
Read assignability and duration from the grant and law rather than a slogan.

Separate commercial rights from personal privileges

Commercial easements in gross, including many utility rights, are commonly treated as transferable or assignable unless valid terms provide otherwise. That makes practical sense when a successor must continue the service or business purpose.

A right granted because of a holder's personal identity can be nonassignable or limited to that holder. The exam should supply facts suggesting the personal nature. Avoid assuming that the word gross decides assignability without the grant, purpose, and jurisdiction.

A sale of the servient land does not erase the recorded burden

The servient parcel can be conveyed subject to the easement. A properly created and binding utility easement ordinarily continues against a later owner even though there is no dominant tenement. The burden attaches to the servient land while the benefit is held in gross.

Termination can still occur by release, expiration, merger in an applicable ownership structure, abandonment supported by the required conduct, condemnation, or another legal route. The absence of a dominant parcel does not make the easement freely revocable like a license.

The utility right after a home sale

Question: A recorded grant lets an electric utility maintain lines across the rear of a lot. The homeowner sells the lot, and the buyer demands removal because no neighboring parcel receives a benefit. Does the sale terminate the right?

Best answer: No. The utility can hold an easement in gross that continues to burden the servient lot after the sale.

Why: The company, not a dominant parcel, receives the benefit. The absence of dominant land identifies an easement in gross; it does not convert the recorded property interest into revocable permission.

Lock in the distinction

Exam trap

Do not say an easement in gross has no servient land. It has burdened land but no dominant tenement. Also avoid the blanket statement that it is always personal and nonassignable.

Memory cue

In gross goes to a holder. Appurtenant goes to a parcel. Both can burden servient land.

Quick questions

Does an easement in gross have a dominant tenement?

No. Its benefit belongs to a person or entity rather than a benefited parcel. It still has a servient tenement.

Is a utility easement in gross?

A utility easement is the standard commercial example when the right benefits the utility company rather than another parcel.

Can an easement in gross be transferred?

Commercial easements in gross are commonly assignable, while personal grants may be limited. The grant terms and governing law control.

Does the servient owner's sale end the easement?

Not by itself. A binding easement in gross can continue against later owners of the servient land.

Primary sources and review status

Checked through August 1, 2026. This definition is an exam-prep explanation, not a substitute for current law or advice about a live dispute. The current official source controls if the outline or Illinois rule changes.