What is a key requirement for establishing an easement by prescription?

• A. Express grant by the landowner.
• B. Continuous owner for the prescriptive period that is a freehold owner claiming over another freehold owner or that has been enjoyed since time immemorial.
• C. Only requires a consent from servient owner.
• D. Must be registered by the Land Registrar.

Answer: (B)

An easement by prescription is earned through long, open, and uninterrupted use of another person’s land for the benefit of your own land, without permission. The essential requirement is that the owner of the dominant tenement has used the servient land for the prescribed period as of right (without the servient owner’s consent) for the benefit of their own property. In practice, this means continuous use for the prescriptive period (commonly 20 years in England) by the owner of the land that benefits from the easement, and that this use has stood for so long it can be regarded as ancient or “time immemorial” if applicable. This is what makes the right arise without a deed or explicit grant.

The other options don’t fit because:

• An express grant is a voluntary, written transfer of an easement, not prescription.

• Consent from the servient owner would prevent the use from becoming a prescriptive right, since prescription requires use without permission.

• Registration with the Land Registry is not a prerequisite for creating a prescriptive easement, though the right may be registered once it exists.