An easement appurtenant—also known as an appurtenant easement, an appendant easement, or a pure easement—is an easement created to benefit another tract of land, with the use of the easement being incident to the ownership of that other tract of land.

An easement appurtenant benefits one tract of land (the dominant estate or tenement) to the detriment or burden of the other tract of land (the servient estate or tenement).

Easements appurtenant are attached to the land (are said to “run with the land”) and are automatically transferred when either the dominant estate or the servient estate is sold or transferred to a new owner.

In New Mexico, an easement appurtenant is a type of property interest that allows the holder of the easement the right to use a portion of another's property for a specific, beneficial purpose related to the holder's adjacent land. This type of easement is tied to the land itself (dominant estate) rather than to an individual owner, meaning it 'runs with the land' and is automatically transferred to new owners when the property is sold or otherwise conveyed. The property that is subject to the use is known as the servient estate. New Mexico law recognizes the creation of easements appurtenant through express grants, necessity, implication, or prescription. The creation, transfer, and termination of such easements are typically governed by state statutes and case law, and they must be recorded in the county where the property is located to provide public notice of the easement's existence. An attorney can provide specific guidance on creating, interpreting, or enforcing an easement appurtenant in New Mexico.