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Thanks to experience in analyzing the market, it is possible to estimate an objective market price for each apartment, house, plot of land, or commercial space. The fee for a written consultation is €25 per property.

Easements, easements…

If one were to look for a keyword that characterizes the recent years of our office’s work, it would undoubtedly be easement. In theory, any immovable property can be sold even without an easement, but in practice this is unfortunately no longer possible in many cases.

What exactly is this thing, and why should neither the seller nor the buyer underestimate the absence of it?

In essence, an easement is one of the limited real rights that gives a “right to another person’s property.”

A real servitude restricts the owner’s right of use, the extent of which is determined by agreement between the parties. Establishing an easement makes it possible to regulate the use of a property or the exercise of certain rights without changing ownership of the immovable. “Each successive owner” means the principle that when the property is sold, the next owner becomes subject to exactly the same arrangement.

Why do this if neighborly relations have so far functioned on the basis of verbal agreements or established good practice?

Because such an agreement applies only between those specific people.

If there is a need to sell your property and access to it currently takes place across neighboring properties located in front of it, then any existing verbal agreements should definitely be formalized before a notary as easements. Yes, this is a financial expense, but it significantly speeds up the sale.

A sales offer may attract a great deal of interest and there may be many interested parties, but no purchase decision follows for one simple reason: if a road easement has not been established, a potential buyer does not want to take on the risk of establishing it themselves, because they have had no prior contact or relationship with the existing neighbors. Often, even the sellers themselves no longer have active contact details for the neighbors to share, and finding them can sometimes be quite difficult. This particularly affects land units where there are no buildings.

Financial institutions take the position that they will finance property only when official access rights have been formalized as easements; the property will not be accepted as collateral if these have not been established.

In some municipalities, changing the designated use of a land unit or obtaining building rights also depends on first establishing road easements. This trend will certainly continue to expand, and even if a buyer finds a beautiful plot where, in theory, they could build a home or summer house, they may encounter the municipality’s position that obtaining building rights is conditional upon first establishing a road easement.

On the northwestern coast of our county, which has the greatest active development potential, many narrow land units stretching toward the sea have been surveyed, where reaching the property requires crossing not one or two foreign properties, but four or five, sometimes more.

In practice, we have encountered situations where address information obtained from the Ministry of the Interior unfortunately did not ensure contact with the person. A separate group consists of owners who are foreigners or who live permanently abroad and have not left their contact details here.

It is possible, and indeed should be considered, to go to court if a neighbor refuses to discuss an agreement on establishing an easement. It is another matter what the quality of neighborly relations will be afterward.

If the buyer has to deal with establishing easements themselves, they will make the seller their own price offer, which certainly will not reflect the market price. They will factor in the risk that they may not be able to achieve their goals at a pace suitable to them because, in reality, the easement issue remains unresolved due to a lack of cooperation from neighboring owners, or the process becomes too lengthy and costly (court-ordered easement). When such a scenario looms, buyer interest generally fades quickly.

There is no need to fear establishing an easement — it organizes and formalizes the existing situation and allows all parties to secure practices that have been in use so far, so that if a sale becomes necessary, the absence of such formalization will not become an obstacle or a significant argument for lowering the price.

If you need prior advice on establishing an easement, arrange a consultation at a time that suits you at the Kinnisvara Vahenduskeskus office: kvkeskus@kvkeskus.ee