A reciprocal easement agreement (REA) is a recorded contract among the owners of separately owned but adjacent parcels that grants mutual easements and sets shared rules so the parcels function as one integrated project. It governs access, parking, utilities, signage, maintenance, and use restrictions, and it runs with the land, binding future owners.
What Is a Reciprocal Easement Agreement?
A reciprocal easement agreement is a legal instrument that lets multiple owners keep separate title to their parcels while operating as a single, seamless development. Each owner grants the others easements across its parcel, and all owners accept covenants that control how the shared property is built, used, and maintained. REAs are most common in shopping centers, mixed-use projects, and multi-owner campuses where a developer and one or more anchor owners share a site.
Per the law firm Cox Castle, an REA typically assembles individually owned parcels into one contiguous property and sets terms for access, parking, and maintenance. The agreement is recorded against title, so it "runs with the land" and passes to every future owner of each parcel.
Element | What the REA controls |
|---|---|
Access and circulation | Driveways, curb cuts, walkways, and cross-parcel ingress and egress |
Parking | Shared parking fields, ratios, and reserved areas |
Utilities | Shared lines, drainage, and easement corridors |
Signage | Pylon and monument rights, sign panels, and placement |
Use restrictions | Prohibited uses, exclusives, and operating standards |
Maintenance and cost sharing | Common area upkeep, allocation formulas, and enforcement |
How Does an REA Differ From CC&Rs and a Lease?
An REA differs from CC&Rs and leases in who is bound and what interest is created. An REA runs between fee owners of separate parcels and creates mutual easements plus covenants; CC&Rs impose covenants and restrictions, often through a declaration and an association, without necessarily granting cross-easements; a lease conveys a possessory interest from a landlord to a tenant for a term. An operator often encounters all three on one site, layered together.
The practical distinction is the party and the interest. An REA governs owner-to-owner rights across a horizontal development. CC&Rs govern conduct and restrictions, frequently in condominium or master-planned settings. A lease governs the landlord-tenant relationship for a defined space and period.
Instrument | Parties | Interest created |
|---|---|---|
Reciprocal easement agreement | Fee owners of separate parcels | Mutual easements and covenants that run with the land |
CC&Rs | Owners bound by a recorded declaration | Covenants and use restrictions, often via an association |
Lease | Landlord and tenant | Possessory leasehold for a stated term |
Why REAs Matter for Commercial Real Estate
REAs matter because they define what a buyer or lender can actually use, build, and control, and a missed provision can strand a deal. Because an REA runs with the land, it binds a buyer at closing whether or not the buyer read it. Access rights, parking ratios, use exclusives, and cost-sharing formulas can each change a property's income, expenses, and development potential. Underwriting a multi-parcel asset without reading the REA leaves the operator exposed to obligations that were recorded years earlier.
In document processing, the REA is one of the most consequential and least standardized items in a title and diligence file. It is frequently long, amended multiple times, and cross-referenced with site plans and exhibits. Key terms, such as an exclusive use clause or a maintenance cost allocation, may sit deep in the body or in a later amendment. For a system that reads diligence documents, the REA is a high-value extraction target: parties, granted easements, use restrictions, exclusives, cost-sharing formulas, approval rights, and amendment history all drive underwriting and legal review.
The quotable point for an operator: an REA is a contract the property carries with it, so the terms bind the next owner even when no one at the closing table negotiated them.
Example
A developer owns Parcel A and sells Parcel B to a grocery anchor, then the two record an REA. The REA grants each owner cross-access over the shared drive aisles and parking field, sets a parking ratio for the combined site, gives the anchor a signage panel on the pylon, prohibits competing grocery uses on Parcel A, and allocates common area maintenance by leasable area.
Provision | Effect on a later buyer of Parcel A |
|---|---|
Cross-access easement | Buyer must keep drive aisles open to Parcel B traffic |
Parking ratio | Buyer cannot build out parking below the shared minimum |
Grocery exclusive | Buyer cannot lease Parcel A space to a competing grocer |
CAM allocation by area | Buyer inherits a fixed share of shared maintenance cost |
A buyer of Parcel A inherits every one of these terms at closing. The grocery exclusive alone can remove an entire tenant category from the rent roll the buyer underwrote. Reading the REA and its amendments before closing is the only way to price those constraints.
Related Terms
Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions