Can I cross the neighbour's land to reach my home?
It depends: a title is needed, but "enclosed" land has a right of way. A right of way is the real right to cross another owner's land (the "servient" land) for the benefit of one's own (the "dominant" land). You can't cross the neighbour's land without a title: the easement is created by contract (a written agreement, generally by notarial deed), by will, by adverse possession (if you've crossed for the required time, visibly) or compulsorily. The typical case of a compulsory easement is enclosed land: if your land has no access to the public road (or insufficient access), you have a right to obtain passage over the neighbouring land, paying compensation. The easement must be transcribed in the property registers and the servient land's owner can't obstruct its exercise.
📋 The rules
- Easement = right to cross the neighbour's land, with a title
- Created by contract, will, adverse possession or compulsorily
- Enclosed land: right to compulsory passage with compensation
- The easement must be transcribed in the property registers
- The servient land can't obstruct the exercise
🔓 Exceptions
- Sufficient access to the public road: no compulsory easement
- Apparent easement: can be acquired by adverse possession if there's a visible work
- The passage route is the least burdensome for the servient land
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Crossing the neighbour's land without a title creates no right and can be contested: the owner can act to prevent it. Likewise, the servient land's owner who obstructs a validly created easement (closing the passage, putting up fences) can be ordered to restore it and pay damages. For enclosed land, the right of way is obtained by agreement or, failing that, by a judgment, against compensation to the burdened land's owner. Disputes over easements and passage are common: it's wise to check the titles (deeds, transcriptions), define the route and compensation in writing and, if needed, use mediation before a lawsuit.
📎 Official sources
- Normattiva · Civil Code (predial easements, art. 1027 ff.; compulsory passage, art. 1051) →
- National Council of Notaries · Easements and real rights →
- Ministry of Justice · Civil mediation →
❓ Frequently asked
Can I cross the neighbour's land?
Only if you have a title creating a right of way: a contract, a will, adverse possession or a compulsory easement. Without a title, crossing the neighbour's land creates no right and can be contested. The special case is enclosed land, which has a right of way.
What is enclosed land?
It's land with no access to the public road, or with insufficient access. The owner of enclosed land has a right to obtain passage over the neighbouring land (compulsory right of way), paying compensation. The passage is set along the route least burdensome for the neighbouring land.
How is a right of way created?
By contract between the owners (generally by notarial deed, to transcribe), by will, by adverse possession (if you've exercised the passage for the required time and visibly) or compulsorily, as with enclosed land, by agreement or judgment and compensation.
Can the neighbour close the passage?
No, if the easement is validly created. The servient land's owner can't obstruct the easement's exercise: if they close it or put up fences preventing passage, they can be ordered to restore it and pay damages. It's different if no easement exists.
Must the easement be registered?
Yes, a right of way created by deed must be transcribed in the property registers to be enforceable against third parties (e.g. a future buyer of the land). Transcription gives certainty and publicity to the right. For easements acquired by adverse possession, a ruling is needed.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “right of way how it works”
- “enclosed land right of passage”
- “compulsory right of way compensation”
- “right of way adverse possession”
- “neighbour closes passage easement”
- “right of way transcription”