📄 What Is Ingress and Egress in Real Estate?

Ingress and egress refer to the legal rights that allow someone to enter (ingress) and exit (egress) a property. These rights ensure access to land, even when the path crosses another person’s property.

How Ingress and Egress Rights Work

Access rights may be granted through an easement, deed, or long-established use. Without legal ingress and egress, a property may be considered landlocked, meaning there is no lawful way to reach it.

Ingress and egress rights commonly apply to:

  • Shared driveways
  • Private roads accessing multiple properties
  • Landlocked parcels
  • Utility and maintenance access
  • Recorded easements shown on surveys

These rights are typically recorded in the deed or survey and remain in place when ownership changes.

Why Ingress and Egress Matter

  • Ensure legal access to a property
  • Appear on title reports, surveys, and plats
  • Impact usability, value, and financing eligibility
  • Can restrict or allow certain types of access
  • May involve rights given to specific properties or the public

A lender may not finance a property without reliable, documented ingress and egress.

Example of Ingress and Egress

A homeowner buys a parcel located behind another property. To reach the public road, they must drive across the neighbor’s land using a recorded access easement. This easement provides ingress (the right to enter) and egress (the right to exit).

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