All landowners have a right to access their own land under Texas law. If you own property that does not currently connect to a road, you can claim an easement to allow access.
An easement grants you the use of land on someone else’s property for a specific purpose. In this case, the easement provides access from your property to the road so that you can travel back and forth between the two. According to the Houston Chronicle, there are two types of easements that you may be able to claim in this situation.
Easement of necessity
You can obtain an easement of necessity if your property used to be a part of someone else’s land. If the necessity of an easement to access your property existed at the time that you acquired it, you can make this type of claim. However, it has to be an absolute necessity to exercise your rights to access as a property owner. If there is another entry point on the property and the easement is merely a matter of convenience, you cannot claim an easement of necessity.
Implied easement
If there appears to be an established route on and off your property that crosses someone else’s land, you may have grounds to claim an implied easement. The existence of an established travel route implies that the previous owners made use of it to access the property. When you acquired the property, you obtained the same rights and privileges that the previous owners enjoyed.
While you have the right to access your property, filing a lawsuit to claim an easement should not necessarily be your first course of action. First, talk to your neighbors and explain the situation. They may be willing to work out an arrangement with you to avoid a lawsuit.
