EASEMENTS BY OWNER’S DESIGNATION AND ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION IN BOLIVIA

This distinction is critical because only apparent easements can be acquired by the owner’s designation or through acquisitive prescription. Non-apparent easements require an explicit legal act to be valid.

EASEMENTS BY OWNER’S DESIGNATION IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

When a person owns two adjoining properties and there is a visible sign of easement between them — such as a water channel crossing both plots — and later sells one of the properties without making any mention of the easement, Bolivian law presumes the easement remains in place, either as a benefit or a burden, depending on the case.

This legal presumption allows the new owner of the transferred plot to continue the established use, provided it aligns with the nature of an easement. The rule prevents the loss of a pre-existing right due to contractual silence and protects usage rights visibly established between the properties.

ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION OF EASEMENTS

Acquisitive prescription allows the acquisition of real rights through long-term, peaceful, and uninterrupted use. In the case of apparent easements, if someone has continuously and publicly used a path, channel, or other visible form of easement across another person’s property for the legally required period, they may claim a right to that easement.

For example, if a community has used a clearly marked road on private land for over ten years to access its agricultural plots, and has done so without interruption or formal permission, a legal right to the easement may be recognized through acquisitive prescription.

This mechanism grants legal protection to long-standing factual relationships, converting them into enforceable rights, provided all legal conditions — including timeframes — are met under Bolivian law.

WHEN ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION DOES NOT APPLY TO EASEMENTS

Bolivian law specifies that non-apparent easements cannot be acquired either by the owner’s designation or by acquisitive prescription. If no visible signs indicate the existence of an easement, it cannot be presumed nor consolidated through use alone. In such cases, an express agreement between parties or a judicial resolution is required for the easement to be legally constituted.

In summary, Bolivian law outlines clear criteria for recognizing an easement without a written agreement. The existence of visible signs and prolonged use are essential conditions for the recognition of easements through owner’s designation or acquisitive prescription. However, the exclusion of non-apparent easements from these mechanisms emphasizes the importance of physical evidence or formal documentation in establishing real rights over property.