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Simple English definitions for legal terms
servient tenant
Read a random definition: sede vacante
A quick definition of servient tenant:
A servient tenant is someone who rents or occupies a property that is burdened by an easement, which means that they have to allow someone else to use a part of their property. For example, if someone has an easement to use a driveway that goes through the servient tenant's property, the servient tenant cannot block the driveway or prevent the other person from using it. The servient tenant is responsible for maintaining the property, but they have to allow the other person to use it as specified in the easement.A more thorough explanation:
A servient tenant is a person who holds a servient estate and is burdened by an easement. This means that they have to allow someone else (the dominant tenant) to use their property for a specific purpose, such as a right of way or access to utilities.
For example, if a property owner grants an easement to a neighboring property owner for a driveway, the neighboring property owner becomes the dominant tenant and the property owner becomes the servient tenant. The servient tenant must allow the dominant tenant to use their property for the driveway.
Another example is if a utility company has an easement to access their equipment on a property, the property owner becomes the servient tenant and must allow the utility company to access their property for maintenance and repairs.