An easement (vecné bremeno) is a right over another person’s real property that obliges the owner to tolerate something, refrain from something or do something. Sections 151n to 151p of the Slovak Civil Code govern it. A contractual one arises only on entry in the cadastre, and one tied to a property passes to every new owner. On an industrial site it typically secures access, utility routes and grid lines.
What an easement is under the Slovak Civil Code
Section 151n(1) of the Civil Code 40/1964, in the text in force since 31 July 2026, defines easements as restrictions on the owner of real property in favour of someone else. The owner must tolerate something, refrain from something or do something. Typical cases are a right of way over a neighbour’s parcel, a right to run a cable or a pipe across it, or a duty to keep a boundary wall in repair.
The corresponding right belongs either to the owner of a particular property or to a particular person. Slovak practice calls the first a right in rem and the second a right in personam, and the difference decides what happens on a sale. Section 151n(2) makes a right tied to a property pass with it to every new owner. A personal right ends at the latest with the death or dissolution of the person it serves, under section 151p(4).
Section 151n(3) deals with costs. Unless the parties agree otherwise, a beneficiary who uses another’s property pays a reasonable share of its upkeep and repair. If the owner uses the same thing, such as a shared access road, the costs follow the degree of shared use.
How an easement is created in Slovakia
Section 151o(1) lists the routes: a written contract, a will together with the outcome of probate, an approved agreement of heirs, a decision of a competent authority, or the law itself. The right can also be acquired by prescription, through long exercise, under the rules of section 134. Under section 151o(2) only the owner may create one by contract, unless a special law gives that power to others as well.
Courts can step in where access fails. Under section 151o(3), if the owner of a building does not own the adjoining land and access cannot be secured otherwise, a court may create a right of way over that land on the building owner’s application. For parcels of unidentified owners, the Slovak Land Fund can grant the right by contract under section 19(5) of Act 180/1995. That is often the only realistic route for an access road or a cable over such a parcel.
For energy networks the law does the work. Section 11(8) of the Energy Act 251/2012, in the text in force since 1 July 2026, turns the operator’s rights into burdens tied to the land. They cover entering land, cutting vegetation and building lines outside built-up areas. The operator must apply for their record in the cadastre within three months, with a geometric plan. Section 11(9) gives the owner one-off reasonable compensation. It must be claimed within two years of learning of the burden, and at most three years, under section 11(10).
How the cadastre records it
The ownership sheet, the list vlastníctva, has a part C for encumbrances. Under the Cadastre Act 162/1995, in the text in force since 1 April 2025, part C records the content of each burden and its beneficiary. Where the right serves another property, it also appears on that property’s sheet. A burden over only part of a parcel needs a geometric plan.
The method of entry depends on how the right arose. A contractual right arises only with entry by deposit (vklad), under section 151o(1) of the Civil Code and section 28 of the Cadastre Act. The district office decides within 30 days, or within 15 days for a strategic investment, under section 32(1). Item 11 of the Administrative Fees Act 145/1995, in the version in force since 1 September 2026, sets the fee at EUR 100 on paper and EUR 50 when filed electronically. An expedited decision within 15 days raises it to EUR 300, or EUR 150 electronically.
Rights created by law or by an authority’s decision arise without deposit and are entered by record (záznam) under section 34. They are valid before they appear on the sheet. A statutory grid burden can therefore bind a plot while part C is still empty, which is why a buyer checks the lines on site as well as the extract.
Easement, lease and protective zone compared
An easement is a right in rem: it binds whoever owns the burdened property. A lease binds the parties to the contract, and section 1(1) of the Cadastre Act records lease rights to land only where they last, or are meant to last, at least five years. A tenant’s access over a neighbour’s yard therefore lasts only as long as the landlord’s arrangement with that neighbour, unless it is secured in rem.
A protective zone (ochranné pásmo) is a third kind of restriction. Section 43 of the Energy Act draws zones around power lines in which building is prohibited, subject to exceptions. Around an overhead line of 35 kV up to and including 110 kV the zone runs 15 metres on each side of the outermost conductor. The zone grants nobody a right to use the land; it limits what can be built there. Section 11(12) gives owners of land in zones created after 1 September 2012 one-off compensation. On a tight industrial plot a zone can cost more buildable area than any access right.
What an easement means for an industrial site
On an industrial plot three kinds usually matter: access over a neighbour’s land, routes for water, sewer, gas and power into the park, and the grid operator’s statutory rights over its lines. A buyer reads part C of every ownership sheet, asks for the contract behind each entry, and walks the site for lines that suggest a statutory burden. A cable trench across a field is also earthwork, and on a recorded archaeological site the heritage office has a say before the digger starts. Our post on archaeology in Slovakia explains who pays when the digger stops.
Once in place, the right is hard to remove. Under section 151p(1) it ends by a decision of an authority or by law, and a contractual cancellation again needs deposit in the cadastre. Under section 151p(2) it also ends if permanent changes mean the property can no longer serve the beneficiary; a temporary inability to exercise it does not count. If changed conditions create a gross disproportion between burden and benefit, a court may limit or cancel it against reasonable compensation, or replace the duty with a money payment, under section 151p(3). For a developer the practical rule is to agree the route, the width and the cost share, attach the geometric plan, and file for deposit before the works start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an easement pass to the buyer of the land?
One tied to the property does, on both sides: the buyer of the burdened land takes the duty, and the buyer of the benefited land takes the right, under section 151n(2). A personal right stays with its holder and ends at the latest with that person.
Is a contractual easement valid before it is entered in the cadastre?
No. Section 151o(1) requires deposit in the cadastre for the right to arise, so until the district office allows the deposit there is only a contract between the parties. Rights created by law or by an authority’s decision are different: they exist first and are recorded afterwards.
Can the owner of the burdened land charge for it?
In a contract the parties agree any payment freely, as a lump sum or a periodic fee. For the statutory rights of a grid operator the Energy Act grants one-off reasonable compensation instead, and the claim lapses if it is not made in time.
Who pays for maintaining a shared access road?
Unless the contract says otherwise, the beneficiary pays a reasonable share of upkeep and repair, and if the owner uses the road too, both pay in proportion to their use under section 151n(3).
Need access or a utility route across neighbouring land for a hall in Slovakia? Talk to us about the site and we will map the existing rights with you.