Utility Easements - What Workers Can And Can’t Do On Your Land 

07/28/2026 10:30 AM       Mark Goodman

The infrastructure that makes the world go round is located all around us, including on your property. Depending on your location, it’s likely that you have gas, sewer and electrical infrastructure on your land, and these assets aren’t indestructible. Whether they are damaged by storms or in need of a system upgrade, workers may need to access utilities on your land, and they don’t need to come knocking on your door every time in order to gain permission to perform their work. 

The vast majority of commercial and even residential properties are subject to utility easements that allow utility workers the right to access their equipment on your land without seeking your permission every time they enter the area. That said, they don’t have free reign to do whatever they please when they are on your land. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at utility easements and explain what these employees are and aren’t allowed to do on your land. 

Utility easements ensure that vital infrastructure can be accessed, fixed and upgraded as needed without needing to gain access clearance every time work needs to be performed. These utility easements ensure infrastructure demands can be met in a timely manner. 

That said, maintenance workers need to abide by the structure of the utility easement in order to abide by this established contract. While every utility agreement is different, in general a utility easement will: 

• Dictate how, specifically, workers must navigate to equipment on the property. They can’t just come and go from any and all access points on your property. 

• When access is allowed (8am-6pm, for example), unless the equipment needs to be accessed for emergency purposes. 

• The purpose of access (must be related to repairs, infrastructure upgrades, equipment monitoring, removing tree branches that could damage equipment, etc.) 

If you’re purchasing commercial land that is subject to a large-scale utility easement, we’ll help you understand what this means for your land and how to navigate the purchase without any surprises. For more information about utility easements and access rights, connect with the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.