9. The Law of Easements and Profits

Abstract

This chapter considers two rights in land that fall short of an entitlement to possession, rights which fall short of freehold or leasehold estates. These lesser, non-possessory rights — of which easements and profits or profits à prendre are but two — are a vital way in which even more of the value in land can be unlocked. An easement is a right of one landowner to enjoy limited use of another's neighbouring land. A profit involves a right to take something from another's land. It involves more than a mere limited right over another's land but rather entails a right to appropriate some part of the natural product of that land (i.e. to take something from another's land).