Learn when an easement can be narrowed or cancelled, what the legal procedure is and whether the owner's consent is required. A practical overview from a lawyer.
An easement need not be permanent and unchanged. In certain situations it is possible to adjust its scope, restrict it or cancel it entirely, whether on the basis of an agreement of the parties, a court decision or by operation of law. In practice, this is mainly a response to a change of circumstances or the needs of the entitled person and the owner of the property.
The content of an easement consists above all of the rights of the easement beneficiary and the obligations of the owner of the burdened property. The right corresponding to an easement must be of a continuous (e.g. the routing of a sewerage connection, a right to build) or recurring nature (e.g. a right of entry for maintenance purposes, a right to draw from a well, a right of way by vehicle). An easement therefore cannot consist of a one-off activity or a one-off interference. Only part of a property may be burdened, and a single property may be burdened by several easements at the same time.
The obligation of the owner of the burdened property may consist of three types of conduct:
To refrain from something.
The obligated party must refrain from certain conduct.
Examples: not raising a wall above a certain height, not placing a structure within a protective zone, not interfering with a utility line.
No. An easement may be exercised only to the extent that was agreed, determined by the court or arises from the law. The entitled person cannot unilaterally expand their rights beyond the agreement, the court decision or the law. If the exercise of the easement exceeds the scope agreed between the entitled and the obligated party, it must be assessed which specific conduct already goes beyond that agreed framework. If the scope of the easement was not expressly defined, the starting point is that its content is limited by the purpose for which the easement was established and by what was objectively foreseeable when the agreement was concluded.
If the easement beneficiary exercises the easement beyond the agreed or determined scope, or expands it without authorisation (e.g. allows the right to be exercised by third parties who were not covered by the agreement), the obligated party has options for judicial protection.
In practice, the obligated party may in particular:
The benefit to the entitled person must not be grossly disproportionate to the obligations of the obligated party. If the easement is "disproportionate", the court may decide to narrow or cancel it in exchange for reasonable compensation (monetary or in kind). Both the obligated party and the beneficiary of the easement have standing to bring an action to restrict or cancel the easement (Rc 108/2009). The court is not bound by the claimant's application, and may therefore merely restrict the easement even where its cancellation was sought, or may order the provision of monetary performance instead of performance in kind.
Yes. If there is such a change of circumstances (both objective and subjective facts) as results in a gross disproportion between the easement and the benefit to the easement beneficiary, the court may decide that monetary compensation shall be provided instead of performance in kind (§ 151p(3) of the Slovak Civil Code). This typically applies to easements attached to a person (e.g. provision of care), where monetary performance covering placement in a suitable facility is provided instead of personal care. Determining reasonable compensation is within the court's competence. It may be a one-off or recurring performance.
A change of an easement means any adjustment of its content, scope or manner of exercise as compared with the original legal position; it may involve its expansion, narrowing or a qualitative change in the exercise of the right.
Narrowing of an easement is a specific form of change in which its material or personal scope is reduced, for example by reducing the area, the route of passage or the circle of entitled persons.
Cancellation of an easement means the complete termination of the legal relationship arising from the easement, as a result of which the entitled person loses the right to continue exercising the easement and the property ceases to be burdened by this right.
Narrowing the scope of an easement in practice means that the exercise of the right by the easement beneficiary is restricted. This is a very common situation in practice, especially with rights of way on foot or by vehicle and rights to build.
The most common reasons for narrowing the scope of an easement encountered by property owners:
Other typical examples from practice:
Narrowing the scope of an easement can be achieved by concluding a written agreement of the contracting parties or, alternatively, by bringing an action before the competent court.
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