What is an Easement?

A historic preservation easement is a voluntary transfer of some rights associated with land ownership. An historic preservation easement is an agreement, set forth in a legal document that allows the donor to retain ownership and possession of an historic landmark, while granting to someone else the authority to protect the historic, architectural, and archaeological features. Such easements contain covenants that obligate the owner to refrain from actions that are incompatible with the preservation of the landmark and are perpetual. This means that they pass with the title to the land, and bind all subsequent owners.

Agreements of this kind may also be called conservation easements or even scenic, open space, exterior, or façade easements. The name has less to do with the way the agreement works than with the kind of resource it protects.

Under the Commonwealth’s Historic Preservation Easement Program, easements are granted to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources and are administered by the staff of the Department of Historic Resources (DHR). The program is designed to protect properties that are listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The board holds more than 300 easements in one of the oldest and most successful programs in the country. To date, no easement has been challenged in court, and there have been few violations. This success is due in large part to the high standards that have governed the acceptance of easements, the careful administration of the program, and the laudable sense of stewardship shared by owners of easement properties.

 

The Alexander-Baker House in Winchester is one of more than 250 easement properties in one of the oldest and most successful programs in the country. This success is due in large part to the high standards and careful administration of the program, and the strong sense of stewardship shared by the property owners.

Easement Main Page

How Does an Easement Work & Why Give an Easement?

Financial Benefits

Terms & Conditions

Process for Donating on Easement