Connecticut Easement and Eminent Domain Laws (2026)

In Connecticut, no one can acquire a right-of-way or other easement over another person's land by adverse use unless the use has continued uninterrupted for fifteen years (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-37), and a landowner can stop that clock by serving and recording a written notice disputing the use (§§ 47-38 to 47-40). On the eminent domain side, the state constitution bars taking property for public use without just compensation (Conn. Const. art. I, § 11), and since a 2007 reform, Public Act 07-141, redevelopment and municipal development agencies may not take property for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenue (§§ 8-127a(a), 8-193(b)).

This page covers both halves of Connecticut law: easements between private landowners first, then the government's power to take private property. For other states, see our guide to easement laws by state.

Information last verified on October 19, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Connecticut statutes and Connecticut Supreme Court decisions on private easements (chapters 821 and 822 of the General Statutes) and on condemnation of private property (the state constitution and chapters 130, 132, 135, 238, 277a, 284 and 835). It does not cover adverse possession of title (see Connecticut squatters' rights and adverse possession), homeowners' association covenants, zoning or regulatory takings, federal condemnation (see our national guide to eminent domain laws by state), or local ordinances.

Easements in Connecticut: The Short Version

An easement is a right to use someone else's land for a limited purpose, such as a driveway, a footpath or a utility line, without owning it. In Connecticut, easements are created in writing and recorded, implied by necessity when land is landlocked, or acquired by fifteen years of uninterrupted adverse use. The rules for each come partly from statutes and partly from Connecticut Supreme Court decisions.

How Long Does a Prescriptive Easement Take in Connecticut?

Fifteen years. Section 47-37 of the General Statutes sets the period:

"No person may acquire a right-of-way or any other easement from, in, upon or over the land of another, by the adverse use or enjoyment thereof, unless the use has been continued uninterrupted for fifteen years."

The statute supplies the period; the elements come from case law. In Schulz v. Syvertsen, 219 Conn. 81 (1991), the Connecticut Supreme Court quoted its earlier decision in Wadsworth Realty Co. v. Sundberg (1973) for the test: "To acquire a right of way by prescription, there must be a user which is open, visible, continuous and uninterrupted for fifteen years and made under a claim of right."

The same opinion addressed the burden of proof. Quoting its earlier decision in Reynolds v. Soffer (1983), the court said that for a prescriptive easement, "[a]ll that is required is a showing by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the use was adverse." The court explained why that standard is lower than the one for adverse possession of title: "title in the former becomes absolute in the adverse user while in the latter, the adverse user acquires only the right to pass and repass over the prescriptive easement."

Prescriptive easements and adverse possession are different claims

A prescriptive easement gives a right to use land; adverse possession gives ownership. Connecticut sets a separate fifteen-year period for recovering land under § 52-575(a), which is the adverse possession statute. Our page on Connecticut squatters' rights and adverse possession covers that claim, including how it is proved.

Land that cannot be burdened by prescription

Section 47-27 bars rights by possession or use of three kinds of land. Railroad or street railway land is the first: "No length of possession, use or occupancy of land belonging to a railroad or street railway corporation and used for its corporate purposes shall create or continue any right in or to such land" (§ 47-27(a)). Land trust land is the second:

"No length of possession, use or occupancy of land belonging to a nonprofit land-holding organization or of land subject to a conservation restriction, as defined in section 47-42a, held by a nonprofit land-holding organization shall create or continue any right in or to such land."

The third is class I or class II water-supply land belonging to an investor-owned water company, although the subsection does not affect rights acquired by possession or use before October 1, 2002 (§ 47-27(c)).

How to Stop Someone From Getting a Prescriptive Easement in Connecticut

Connecticut gives landowners a statutory notice procedure. Under § 47-38, the owner of land over which a right-of-way or other easement is claimed or used "may give notice in writing, to the person claiming or using the privilege, of his intention to dispute the right-of-way or other easement and to prevent the other party from acquiring the right."

Once the notice is "served and recorded as provided in sections 47-39 and 47-40," it "shall be deemed an interruption of the use and shall prevent the acquiring of a right thereto by the continuance of the use for any length of time thereafter" (§ 47-38).

The timing step that matters most is in § 47-39: "The service shall be endorsed and returned on the original paper, and the notice with the return shall be recorded in the land records of the town in which the land lies, within three months after the service." A notice that is served but not recorded within that window does not meet the statute's terms.

The notice is served like a civil summons on the person using the way, or that person's agent or guardian, if in Connecticut; otherwise on the tenant or occupant of the property the easement benefits, or, if there is none, by fixing a copy to the house or another conspicuous part of the premises (§ 47-39). If the owner of the benefited property is unknown, the notice may be given by posting a copy conspicuously on that property, serving it on the person to whom the property was last assessed for taxes, and recording it (§ 47-40).

The notice also opens the door to a lawsuit by the person claiming the easement. Section 47-41 treats the notice as "a disturbance of the right in question which enables the party claiming the right to bring an action as for a nuisance or disturbance for the purpose of trying the right. If the plaintiff in that action prevails, he shall be entitled to full costs, although he recovers only nominal damages."

What If My Land Is Landlocked in Connecticut?

Chapter 238 of the General Statutes (highway construction and maintenance), other highway chapters, and the property chapters 821 and 822 contain no procedure for a landlocked owner to petition for a private way across a neighbor's land. The remedy Connecticut courts recognize is the common-law easement by necessity. Two narrower statutes protect access: owners whose land bounds a discontinued or abandoned highway keep a right-of-way over it to the nearest or most accessible highway, unless that right-of-way was acquired in conjunction with a limited access highway (§ 13a-55), and a railroad whose taking cuts land off from practical access to the highway must provide a private way to it (§ 13b-253).

In Francini v. Goodspeed Airport, LLC, 327 Conn. 431 (2018), the Connecticut Supreme Court described the analysis for access to a landlocked parcel as three-pronged, considering:

1. "the cost of obtaining enjoyment from, or access to, the property by means of the easement in relation to the cost of other substitutes,"
2. "the intent of the parties concerning the use of the property at the time of severance," and
3. "the beneficial enjoyment the parties can obtain from their respective properties with and without the easement."

The court added that "an easement by necessity may arise from a reasonable, but not strict, necessity." Because the second factor looks to the parties' intent "at the time of severance," the analysis is tied to the moment a single property was divided.

Francini itself concerned utility lines. The court concluded "that public policy favors recognizing easements by necessity for utilities over an existing right-of-way when the requisite necessity is established."

Who Maintains a Shared Driveway or Right-of-Way in Connecticut?

For a private appurtenant easement or right-of-way that provides access to residential property, § 47-42f(b) makes the owner of the benefited home "responsible for the cost of maintaining such easement or right-of-way in good repair and the cost of repairing or restoring any damaged portion," and adds that maintenance includes "the removal of snow."

Where several homes benefit, they share the cost under any enforceable written agreement or, without one, "in proportion to the benefit received by each such property" (§ 47-42f(c)). An owner who damages the way is solely responsible for repairing that portion (§ 47-42f(d)). If an owner refuses to make that repair, or fails after a written demand to pay a share, the other benefited owners may sue in Superior Court for specific performance or contribution (§ 47-42f(e)). A written agreement controls over the statute where the two conflict (§ 47-42f(f)), and the section does not apply to property owned by the state or a political subdivision (§ 47-42f(a)).

Express Easements, Recording and Conservation Restrictions

Two general statutes govern written property interests. Under the statute of frauds, no civil action may be maintained "upon any agreement for the sale of real property or any interest in or concerning real property" unless the agreement, or a memorandum of it, is in writing and signed by the party (§ 52-550(a)(4)).

Recording protects the interest against later buyers and others. Section 47-10(a) provides: "No conveyance shall be effectual to hold any land against any other person but the grantor and his heirs, unless recorded on the records of the town in which the land lies." Land records are kept by each town; our page on Connecticut property records explains how to search them.

A conservation restriction is a specialized interest defined in § 47-42a as "a limitation, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition, in any deed, will or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land ... whose purpose is to retain land or water areas predominantly in their natural, scenic or open condition or in agricultural, farming, forest or open space use."

How an Easement Can Be Cut Off: The Marketable Record Title Act

Connecticut's Marketable Record Title Act (§§ 47-33b to 47-33l) can clear old interests from a title, but it carries exceptions that protect many easements.

A person with an unbroken record chain of title for forty years or more has a marketable record title (§ 47-33c), held free of interests that depend on any act, transaction, event or omission before the effective date of the root of title (§ 47-33e). A person claiming an older interest can preserve it by recording a sworn notice of claim during the forty-year period after the root of title, and "[n]o disability or lack of knowledge of any kind on the part of anyone suspends the running of the forty-year period" (§§ 47-33f(a), 47-33g).

Section 47-33h says the act shall not be applied to "bar or extinguish any easement or interest in the nature of an easement" if "the existence of such easement or interest is evidenced by the location beneath, upon or above any part of the land described in such instrument of any pipe, valve, road, wire, cable, conduit, duct, sewer, track, hole, tower or other physical facility and whether or not the existence of such facility is observable." The section also protects conservation restrictions held by a land trust or nonprofit organization, and interests of the United States, the state or a political subdivision, public service companies and natural gas companies (§ 47-33h).

Section 47-33d lists what a marketable record title remains subject to. Among them are "all interests preserved by the recording of proper notice or by possession by the same owner continuously for a period of forty years or more, in accordance with section 47-33f," and "the rights of any person arising from a period of adverse possession or use, which was in whole or in part subsequent to the effective date of the root of title."

The same section warns that "a general reference in the muniments, or any of them, to easements, use restrictions or other interests created prior to the root of title are not sufficient to preserve them, unless specific identification is made therein of a recorded title transaction which creates the easement, use restriction or other interest."

How Does an Easement End in Connecticut?

The Connecticut Supreme Court, quoting its earlier decisions, has said that "[a]n easement may be extinguished by a written release or by an abandonment of his right by the owner of the dominant estate," that abandonment is a question of intention, and that "[t]he proof must clearly indicate that it was the intention of the owner of the dominant estate to abandon the easement" (Smith v. Muellner, 283 Conn. 510 (2007)).

Long nonuse does not end a deeded easement on its own: "Mere nonuser of an easement created by deed, however long continued, is insufficient to establish abandonment. There must also be some conduct on the part of the owner of the servient estate adverse to and inconsistent with the existence of the easement and continuing for the statutory period, or the nonuser must be accompanied by unequivocal and decisive acts clearly indicating an intent on the part of the owner of the easement to abandon the use of it."

The same opinion explains that a servient owner's adverse use, "to effect extinguishment, must persist continuously for a period of fifteen years" (§ 47-37), and that the servient owner's acts must be distinctly adverse to the easement, not merely acts showing dominion over the owner's own land. In Smith, the court reversed findings that a deeded right-of-way had been extinguished by adverse use or abandoned after a prior owner's sixteen years of nonuse.

Eminent Domain in Connecticut

The government's power to take private property is limited by article I, section 11 of the Connecticut Constitution: "The property of no person shall be taken for public use, without just compensation therefor." The clause speaks of property "taken"; it contains no "or damaged" language. For federal law and every other state, see our national guide to eminent domain laws by state.

Kelo began in New London. In Kelo v. City of New London, 268 Conn. 1 (2004), the Connecticut Supreme Court concluded that "economic development projects created and implemented pursuant to chapter 132 that have the public economic benefits of creating new jobs, increasing tax and other revenues, and contributing to urban revitalization, satisfy the public use clauses of the state and federal constitutions." The 2007 limits described below are statutory.

At the federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), that takings under the city's development plan satisfied the Fifth Amendment's public use requirement because "that plan unquestionably serves a public purpose." The Court added that "nothing in our opinion precludes any State from placing further restrictions on its exercise of the takings power."

Can Connecticut Take Property for Private Development?

In 2007, Connecticut enacted Public Act 07-141, which limits, but does not abolish, takings under redevelopment and municipal development plans. Its changes to §§ 8-127a, 8-129 and 8-193 took effect June 25, 2007 and apply to property acquired on or after that date.

For redevelopment agencies, § 8-127a(a) provides: "No real property may be acquired by a redevelopment agency by eminent domain pursuant to section 8-128 under a redevelopment plan under this chapter for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenue."

Before any taking, the agency must hold a public hearing, publish notice of it, and mail notice at least ten days ahead to the owners of record and to all owners of real property within 100 feet (§ 8-127a(a)(2)). Each parcel must be approved by a majority vote of the agency's members, voting on the parcel alone or on a group in which each parcel is identified, and the approval must be published within ten days (§ 8-127a(a)(3)(A)-(B)). The agency also may not approve the use of eminent domain unless it has:

• considered the benefits to the public and any private entity and "determined that the public benefits outweigh any private benefits,"
• "determined that the current use of the real property cannot be feasibly integrated into the overall redevelopment plan," and
• "determined that the acquisition of the real property by eminent domain is reasonably necessary to successfully achieve the objectives of the redevelopment plan."

Section 8-127a also sets a time limit. The agency must acquire any property identified for eminent domain "by a date that is five years after the date the first property is acquired by eminent domain under the plan unless the redevelopment agency approves an extension," and "no property may be acquired by eminent domain under the plan more than ten years after the first property is acquired." An owner-occupant of property acquired under § 8-128 under a redevelopment plan "may file an application in the superior court ... to enjoin the acquisition of such property" (§ 8-127a(a)(4)). The court may issue the injunction if it finds the agency failed to comply with the chapter, and filing the application tolls the five- and ten-year periods for that property until final judgment. On federally funded projects, the five- and ten-year limits do not apply to the extent federal law prohibits them (§ 8-127a(a)(3)(C)(ii)).

For municipal development projects under chapter 132, § 8-193(b) contains the same bar: "no real property may be acquired by eminent domain pursuant to this subsection for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenue." It adds a supermajority vote: "No parcel of real property may be acquired by eminent domain under this section except by approval by vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the legislative body of the municipality or, in the case of a municipality for which the legislative body is a town meeting or a representative town meeting, the board of selectmen." Section 8-193 also requires the same hearing and notice steps, and it is the legislative body or board of selectmen that must make the three determinations before approving a taking (§ 8-193(b)(2)-(3)).

Municipal economic development plans under chapter 588l must likewise include findings that public benefits will outweigh private benefits, that the existing use cannot feasibly be integrated, that eminent domain is reasonably necessary, and that "the plan is not for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenues" (§ 32-224(b)(14)).

Who else can condemn

The state, towns, municipal corporations and school districts that cannot agree with an owner on price for the purposes listed in §§ 48-3, 48-6, 48-8 and 48-9 "shall proceed in the same manner specified for redevelopment agencies in accordance with sections 8-128, 8-129, 8-129a, 8-130, 8-131, 8-132, 8-132a and 8-133" (§ 48-12). A municipal corporation that has voted to buy property and cannot agree on price must begin the § 48-12 procedure within six months after the vote, or the vote is void (§ 48-6(a)). In a condemnation brought by the state, damages are referred to a state referee (§ 48-10).

State highway takings follow their own procedure: the commissioner files an assessment of damages and benefits with the court (§ 13a-73(b)), and an aggrieved owner may seek reassessment (§ 13a-76). Title passes to the state when the commissioner files the certificate of taking, construction may begin after the assessment is made, and the last owner of record of an owner-occupied residence or owner-operated business may remain rent free for 90 days after the certificate is filed (§ 13a-73(b)).

Section 48-30(a) adds a guard against bluffing in negotiations: "No person who negotiates the acquisition of real property may represent in such negotiation that the person has the power to acquire the property by eminent domain unless the person is an appointed or elected official of a public agency, as defined in section 1-200, that has such power." A violation is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under § 42-110b(a) (§ 48-30(b)).

Pipelines and utilities

A natural gas pipeline corporation holding a federal certificate of public convenience and necessity may take land, rights-of-way and easements by eminent domain after filing a certified copy of that certificate with the Secretary of the State (§§ 16-263, 16-264). If the company and owner cannot agree on damages, a committee of three disinterested persons appointed by the Superior Court assesses them, and the company may not enter until damages are paid or deposited (§ 16-266), unless the court finds that delay would prejudice the public interest and allows immediate temporary entry on a deposit it fixes (§ 16-267).

Section 16-265 bars these takings in certain places: "No lands or rights-of-way or easements therein shall be taken by eminent domain under the provisions of sections 16-263 to 16-269, inclusive, in any public street or highway, public park or reservation or other public property, or within the location of any railroad company ... or other public utility company." The same section still lets a pipeline run under public property if the authority in charge of it approves the plans, and across a railroad or utility location by agreement or, failing agreement, with the approval of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

Residential property gets a separate notice rule. Under § 16-50z, as amended by Public Act 24-144 (2024): "When a public service company intends to acquire residential real property by condemnation, the company shall notify the owner of the property not less than sixty days prior to the intended date of condemnation, by certified mail." An owner who disputes the company's need for the property "may bring the issue of the purpose for which the property is being acquired to the Connecticut Siting Council not later than thirty days after the date on which the owner receives notice of the potential condemnation." That 30-day window runs from receipt of the notice and is short. A company that condemns residential property must pay the owner its fair market value, reasonable moving expenses (measured within a 200-mile radius if the owner moves farther), and any other expenses a court orders (§ 16-50z(d)).

How Condemnation Works in Connecticut

For redevelopment agencies, and for the state and local bodies that borrow the same procedure under § 48-12, the process runs through a statement of compensation filed with the court:

1. The agency files a statement of compensation and serves notice on the owners (§ 8-129).
2. "Not less than thirty-five days or more than ninety days" after the notice and statement are served or mailed and first published, the agency files a return of notice with the Superior Court clerk, and the clerk "shall, without any delay or continuance of any kind, issue a certificate of taking" (§ 8-129).
3. "Upon the recording of such certificate, title to such property in fee simple shall vest in the municipality, and the right to just compensation shall vest in the persons entitled thereto" (§ 8-129).
4. After the statement of compensation and deposit are filed and the certificate of taking is recorded, a Superior Court judge may, on application, order an execution "commanding a state marshal to put such municipality and the redevelopment agency, as its agent, into peaceable possession of the property so acquired, rented or condemned" (§ 8-129(e)).

The agency must deposit with the court clerk the full amount in its statement of compensation. On application, the court shall order the deposit paid out "forthwith" to a person with an interest in it, and the agency may withdraw the proceeding at any time before the certificate of taking issues (§ 8-130). Under other condemnation statutes that use an appraisal of damages, § 48-23 allows an execution for possession once the appraisal is returned and paid or deposited.

The six-month deadline to challenge the amount

The key owner deadline is in § 8-132(a): "Any person claiming to be aggrieved by the statement of compensation filed by the redevelopment agency may, at any time within six months after the statement of compensation has been filed, apply to the superior court for the judicial district in which such property is situated for a review of such statement of compensation so far as it affects such applicant." The six months run from the filing of the statement, not from the date an owner reads it. The review addresses the statement of compensation, and its pendency "shall not prevent or delay any action that is proposed with regard to such property by the project area redevelopment plan" (§ 8-132(d)).

State highway takings carry a parallel deadline. Under § 13a-76, a person aggrieved by the commissioner's assessment of special damages or special benefits may, "at any time within six months after the same has been so filed, apply to the superior court" for a reassessment.

How Is Just Compensation Calculated in Connecticut?

Section 8-129(a)(2) uses two independent appraisals. "Each appraiser shall provide a copy of the appraisal to the agency and the property owner," and, for acquisitions covered by that subdivision and subject to its stated exceptions, "the amount of compensation for such real property shall be equal to the average of the amounts determined by the two independent appraisals."

The 125 percent rule is narrow. The same subdivision continues: "except that the compensation for any real property to be acquired by eminent domain pursuant to section 8-193 or by condemnation pursuant to section 32-224 shall be one hundred twenty-five per cent of such average amount." It does not apply to ordinary redevelopment-plan takings under § 8-128.

Section 8-129(a)(2) also adds an escalator for later takings near an earlier one: "If the agency acquires real property that is subject to this subdivision five years or more after acquiring another parcel of real property within one thousand feet of the property pursuant to a redevelopment plan or development plan, the agency shall increase the amount of compensation for the subsequent acquisition of real property by an additional five per cent for each year from the sixth year until the tenth year after the acquisition of the first parcel of real property." On projects funded in whole or in part by federal funds, these appraisal and compensation rules "shall not apply to the extent that such provisions are prohibited by federal law" (§ 8-129(a)(2)).

Other statutes affect the amount. If a partial taking leaves a remainder that does not conform to the area requirements of existing zoning regulations, the condemnor must obtain a variance before condemning; if it does not, the owner is reimbursed for the whole contiguous unit and the condemnor takes all of it (§ 48-24). The value of crops on the land is counted (§ 48-14), and environmental remediation costs are considered in assessing fair market value (§ 48-17d). In highway takings, a referee may award additional damages for unreasonable delay between the filing of the highway map and the certificate of taking (§ 13a-76a).

A judgment of compensation must include interest "at a rate that is reasonable and just," running from the date of taking to the date of payment; if the court sets no rate, the statute uses the weekly average one-year constant maturity yield of U.S. Treasury securities (§ 37-3c). No interest is owed on deposited money for the period after the owner can withdraw it (§§ 37-3c, 8-130). When the state has agreed to buy land for a highway and does not pay within 90 days after the owner files a written acceptance, it owes interest at 8 percent a year unless the owner has not furnished clear title (§ 13a-79).

Attorney Fees, Appraisal Fees and Costs

Connecticut has several fee provisions, each tied to a particular condemnor or outcome, including:

• Redevelopment review (§ 8-133): If the applicant "obtains an award from the court greater than the amount determined as compensation by the redevelopment agency, costs of court, including such appraisal fees as the court determines to be reasonable, shall be awarded to the applicant and taxed against the redevelopment agency."
• Public or private corporations (§ 48-26): When a court's award "exceeds the amount of compensation, damages or benefits last offered" before or at the start of the proceeding, "the court may order the condemnor to pay the reasonable appraisal fees and reasonable fees for expert testimony incurred by the property owner." This award is discretionary.
• Failed or abandoned state condemnations (§ 48-17a): The court "shall award" the owner reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, "including reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees, actually incurred because of the condemnation proceedings, if (1) the final judgment is that the state agency cannot acquire the real property by condemnation; or (2) the proceeding is abandoned by the state."
• State highway reassessments (§§ 13a-76, 13a-77): If the reassessment of damages exceeds the commissioner's assessment, the owner is awarded reasonable appraisal fees, and an owner who obtains a greater award is awarded court costs.
• Inverse condemnation against the state (§ 48-17b): An owner who obtains a judgment against the state in an inverse condemnation proceeding, or a settlement with the Attorney General, is awarded reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, "including reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees, actually incurred because of such proceeding."

Relocation Payments

Connecticut's Uniform Relocation Assistance Act (chapter 135) pays displaced owners and tenants. Under § 8-269, the state agency "shall make an additional payment not in excess of fifteen thousand dollars to any displaced person who is displaced from a dwelling actually owned and occupied by such displaced person for not less than one hundred and eighty days prior to the initiation of negotiations for the acquisition of the property." That payment is made only to an owner who buys and occupies a decent, safe and sanitary replacement dwelling within one year after the later of final payment for the old home or moving out (§ 8-269(b)).

A displaced person who occupied the dwelling for at least 90 days but does not qualify under § 8-269, such as a tenant, may receive up to $4,000 toward renting a replacement for up to four years or toward a down payment; any amount over $2,000 used for a down payment must be matched equally (§ 8-270(a)). Moving costs are paid at actual reasonable expense, or a displaced resident may instead take a scheduled moving allowance of up to $300 plus a $200 dislocation allowance; a displaced business or farm may instead take a fixed payment of $2,500 to $10,000 if it meets the statute's conditions (§ 8-268).

Federal amounts can replace the state figures in some takings. For "displacement of a person on or after October 1, 2007, because of acquisition of real property by a redevelopment agency pursuant to section 8-128, a development agency pursuant to section 8-193, or an implementing agency pursuant to section 32-224," the agency must make relocation payments under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 "if payments under said act and regulations would be greater" than the state payments (§ 8-268(d)).

A person or business "aggrieved by any agency action, concerning their eligibility for relocation payments" may appeal to the Commissioner of Transportation for a transportation project, or to the Commissioner of Housing for any other state agency program or project (§ 8-278).

Can a Former Owner Buy the Property Back?

Yes, for property taken on or after June 25, 2007 under a redevelopment plan (§ 8-127a(b)) or a municipal development plan (§ 8-193(c)), if the land goes unused. Under § 8-127a(b)(1), "if the municipality does not use the real property for the purpose for which it was acquired or for some other public use and seeks to sell the property, the municipality shall first offer the real property for sale" to the person it was acquired from, or that person's designated heirs.

The price may not exceed "the lesser of (A) the amount paid by the redevelopment agency to acquire the property, or (B) the fair market value of the property at the time of any sale." The municipality "may not sell such property to a third party unless the municipality has permitted the person or named heirs six months during which to exercise the right to purchase the property, and an additional six months to finalize the purchase if the person or named heirs provide the municipality with notice of intent to purchase the property within the initial six-month period."

The municipality must give the former owner a form to supply an address for the notice and to name eligible heirs, and the owner must keep it updated in writing. If the owner does not provide or update the form so that notice can be sent, no notice of sale is required (§ 8-127a(b)(2)). On federally funded projects the right does not apply to the extent federal law prohibits it (§ 8-127a(b)(3)).

Related Connecticut Pages

• Easement laws by state
• Eminent domain laws by state
• Connecticut squatters' rights and adverse possession
• Connecticut property records

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Connecticut easement and eminent domain law. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific property or condemnation, contact a lawyer licensed in Connecticut.

Last updated: October 19, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get a prescriptive easement in Connecticut?

Fifteen years of uninterrupted adverse use (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-37). The Connecticut Supreme Court describes the required use as open, visible, continuous and uninterrupted for fifteen years and made under a claim of right, and adversity needs only a fair preponderance of the evidence (Schulz v. Syvertsen, 1991).

How do I stop a neighbor from getting a prescriptive easement in Connecticut?

Section 47-38 lets the landowner give written notice of intent to dispute the use. Once served and recorded under §§ 47-39 and 47-40 (served on the user, or on an occupant or by posting where the user is out of state or the owner is unknown), with the notice and return recorded in the town land records within three months after service, it counts as an interruption of the use. The person claiming the easement may then sue to try the right (§ 47-41).

Is there an easement by necessity for landlocked property in Connecticut?

Yes, as a common-law doctrine. The Connecticut Supreme Court weighs the cost of access by the easement against substitutes, the parties' intent at the time of severance, and the benefit each side gets with and without the easement, and stated that the necessity may be reasonable rather than strict (Francini v. Goodspeed Airport, 2018). The court has also recognized easements by necessity for utilities over an existing right-of-way when the necessity is established. Connecticut's highway chapters and property chapters 821 and 822 set no petition procedure for a private way, though owners bounding a discontinued or abandoned highway generally keep a right-of-way over it to the nearest highway (§ 13a-55).

Does the Marketable Record Title Act wipe out old easements in Connecticut?

Not all of them. Section 47-33h bars the act from extinguishing an easement evidenced by a pipe, road, wire, sewer or other physical facility, whether or not the facility is observable, and § 47-33d keeps title subject to interests preserved by recorded notice or 40 years of continuous possession under § 47-33f. A general reference to older easements does not preserve them unless it specifically identifies the recorded instrument that created them (§ 47-33d).

Can Connecticut take my home for a private developer?

Connecticut does not ban redevelopment takings outright. For property acquired on or after June 25, 2007, a redevelopment or municipal development agency may not take property for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenue, and a redevelopment agency must find that public benefits outweigh private benefits, that the current use cannot feasibly be integrated into the plan, and that the taking is reasonably necessary; under § 8-193 the municipality's legislative body or board of selectmen makes those findings (§§ 8-127a(a), 8-193(b)). A public hearing with mailed notice to the owner comes first.

How long do I have to challenge a condemnation award in Connecticut?

For a redevelopment agency's statement of compensation, and for takings that follow the same procedure under § 48-12, an aggrieved person may apply to the Superior Court for review within six months after the statement is filed (§ 8-132(a)). For state highway takings, the six months run from the filing of the commissioner's assessment (§ 13a-76).

Do I get 125 percent of fair market value in Connecticut eminent domain?

Only in some takings. Section 8-129(a)(2) sets compensation at 125 percent of the average of two independent appraisals for property taken under § 8-193 (municipal development) or condemned under § 32-224, not for ordinary redevelopment takings under § 8-128. The rule applies to property acquired on or after June 25, 2007, and on federally funded projects only to the extent federal law allows.

Does the government pay attorney fees in a Connecticut eminent domain case?

Attorney fees are expressly awarded when a state agency's condemnation fails or the state abandons it (§ 48-17a) and when an owner wins or settles an inverse condemnation claim against the state (§ 48-17b). Other provisions cover costs and appraisal fees when a court review beats a redevelopment agency's figure (§ 8-133), and let a court order appraisal and expert fees when the award exceeds the condemnor's last offer (§ 48-26); in state highway cases an owner whose reassessment beats the commissioner's figure is awarded reasonable appraisal fees and court costs (§§ 13a-76, 13a-77).

Can a utility condemn a house in Connecticut?

A public service company that intends to condemn residential real property must notify the owner by certified mail at least 60 days before the intended condemnation date, and an owner who disputes the need may take the purpose of the acquisition to the Connecticut Siting Council within 30 days after receiving the notice (§ 16-50z(c)). The company must pay the owner fair market value, reasonable moving expenses (measured within a 200-mile radius), and any other expenses a court orders (§ 16-50z(d)).