A portion of a property being used by a utility company to maintain its power lines is an example of what?

An easement is a legal right that allows a party to use a portion of another person's property for a specific purpose, such as the maintenance of utility lines. In this context, a utility company typically requires access to land to install and maintain its infrastructure, such as power lines, without owning the property outright. This scenario exemplifies an easement because it grants the utility the right to use the land for a defined purpose while the property owner retains ownership of the land.

A leasehold interest involves the rental of property for a specified time, which does not apply in this case as the utility does not pay rent but rather has a legal right to use the property for its operations. A right of way specifically refers to the right to travel across or use another’s land, often associated with transportation or access routes, which is similar to an easement but may not encompass all the rights that an easement does. A license, on the other hand, is a temporary and revocable permission to use someone else's property, which does not provide the same level of legal security as an easement. Thus, the most appropriate term to describe the utility company’s use of the property for maintaining power lines is indeed an easement.