It’s more common than it seems: a beautiful plot of land, an attractive price… but to get there, you have to cross your neighbor’s property—the one “who’s always let you pass.” That one detail can turn your investment into a piece of land you’re legally barred from entering.
What Is a Right of Way?
It is a real right governed by the Civil Code that allows the owner of one property (the dominant estate) to pass through another person’s property (the servient estate) to reach a public road. As a real right, it is tied to the land: it remains valid even if the neighbor sells the property, dies, or changes their mind.
The Fatal Mistake: Verbal Permission
“De facto” access, tolerated for years, does not create any legal rights. The day the servient property changes hands—or the neighbor gets angry—a padlocked gate appears, and regaining access requires a lawsuit. That’s why there’s only one rule: the easement must be set forth in a public deed and registered with the Real Estate Registry (Conservador de Bienes Raíces).
How It Is Established
- Voluntary: both owners sign a deed (usually in exchange for payment or as part of the original subdivision) and have it registered. This is standard practice in subdivisions: the subdivision plan itself includes easement strips for all interior lots.
- Legal: If your property has no access to a public road, the Civil Code gives you the right to demand right of way from your neighbor, in exchange for appropriate compensation. If no agreement is reached, a judge will determine the terms.
Before buying, check this
- Make sure the deed and the plot plan specify the right-of-way, including its width and layout.
- Make sure it’s registered—request the certificate from the CBR; it’s part of our legal checklist.
- How road maintenance is divided among those who use it (gravel, snow, mud: in the south, this is no small matter).
- If access is via an interior road within a gated community, review the bylaws and the associated common expenses.
What if the lot I like doesn’t have a registered easement?
Don’t rule it out immediately, but make the purchase agreement conditional on the seller establishing the easement before the deed is executed. It’s a perfectly feasible process—Osiadacz Abogados handles it—but the seller must pay for and resolve it, not you after the purchase.
On the website, you can view the declared access route for each lot in its listing, and ask the seller directly about the easement via WhatsApp.