Glossary
Easement
A legal right to use or limit the use of another person's land for a specific purpose, such as access or sunlight.
Why it matters
Solar easements protect a property's access to sunlight by recording limits on how neighboring
land may be used (for example, tree height or building height). Unlike a general solar-rights
statute, a solar easement is usually a specific, recorded agreement or statutory right tied to a
particular property.
What to check
Whether a recorded solar easement exists, how it was created, what it limits, and whether state
law provides a statutory form for creating one.
Jurisdictional variation
States differ on how solar easements are created and enforced; some have specific statutes,
others rely on general easement law. The guides citing this term identify the applicable state
sources.