N.Y. Real Property Law § 335-a

Lay utility lines under private road – NY RPL § 335-a

Under NY RPL § 335-a, subdivision lot owners not on a public road may lay utility lines under the private road on the map, if they restore and pay damages.

Official text N.Y. Real Property Law § 335-a — New York

§ 335-a. Easements of necessity. The owner of any lot, plot, block, site or other parcel of real estate being a subdivision or part of a subdivision of any larger parcel or parcels of real property shown upon a map of said parcel or parcels of real property and of its subdivision or subdivisions, filed in the office of the county clerk or of the register of deeds of the county where the property is situated, prior to the sale or conveyance of such lot, plot, block, site or other parcel, or subdivision thereof by the seller thereof, upon which map any road or street is indicated or shown as giving access to or egress from any public road or street to such lot, plot, block, site or other parcel of real estate thereon indicated or to any part thereof, sold or granted after such filing, and the owner of any lot, plot, block, site or other parcel of real estate, the conveyance whereof shall specifically give the right of access to or egress from the same by any private road or street over lands belonging to the maker of such conveyance and which road or street is described in such conveyance, may, when necessary to the enjoyment of the lot, plot, block or site or other parcel of real estate so sold or conveyed and when the same is not bounded by a public road, lay, beneath the roads or streets indicated and shown upon such map or described in such conveyance as giving access to or egress from any public road to such property so sold or conveyed as aforesaid, wires, conduits, and water lines for the purpose of supplying the said property with electric light, telephone, and water service. Such wires, conduits, or lines shall be laid only on condition that the private roads or streets on which the owner has the right of access to or egress from such property shall be restored as nearly as possible to their original condition and that the person or persons entitled to the fee of such private roads or streets or having an easement over the same shall be compensated for actual damage occasioned by the laying of such wires, conduits, or lines.

Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect in any manner lands acquired by the city of New York for the purpose of construction or development of its water supply system.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

The heading says easements of necessity; the sentence says something narrower, and the gap between the two is the reason this page exists. The section applies to an owner of a lot in a subdivision shown on a map filed with the county clerk or register before the lot was sold, where the map shows a road or street giving access to or egress from a public road - and to an owner whose conveyance specifically grants a right of access over a described private road on the grantor's land. What such an owner may do is lay, beneath those roads or streets, wires, conduits and water lines for the purpose of supplying the property with electric light, telephone and water service. The right arises only when it is necessary to the enjoyment of the lot and when the lot is not bounded by a public road.

Two conditions attach. The private roads must be restored as nearly as possible to their original condition, and the person entitled to the fee of those roads, or holding an easement over them, must be compensated for actual damage occasioned by the laying of the lines. The section closes by disclaiming any effect on lands acquired by the City of New York for its water supply system.

So this is a utility provision, not a right of way. It presupposes that the owner already has access - by the filed map or by the terms of the conveyance - and adds the right to run services under that access. A landlocked owner with no such map and no such grant is not given a road by this section. Common law easements by necessity and by implication exist in New York, but they come from case law, not from this text.

When it applies

  • A house on a private lane cannot get an electricity supply without running a cable under the lane.
  • The owner of the private road refuses to allow a water line to be laid to a subdivided lot.
  • A subdivision map filed decades ago shows the road, and a later owner of the roadbed objects.
  • The private road is damaged by trenching and the owner of the roadbed claims compensation.
  • A lot owner assumes this section gives a right of way to a landlocked parcel.

What this section does not say

  • It does not create a right of way. The right it gives is to lay utility lines beneath a road the owner already has access over.
  • It does not help a lot with no filed subdivision map showing the road and no express grant of access in the conveyance.
  • It does not cover gas, sewer, drainage or broadband by name - the text lists electric light, telephone and water service.
  • It does not make the work free. Restoration of the road and compensation for actual damage are conditions of the right.
  • It does not apply where the lot is bounded by a public road, or where the lines are not necessary to the enjoyment of the lot.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

The only practical way to get power to a house is a cable under the private lane shown on an old subdivision map. The owner of the lane refuses to allow any digging.

How the wording applies

Where a subdivision map filed before the lot was sold shows the road giving access to a public road, the lot owner may lay wires, conduits and water lines beneath it to supply electric light, telephone and water - but only where that is necessary to the enjoyment of the lot and the lot is not bounded by a public road. Two conditions travel with the right: restoring the lane as nearly as possible to its original condition, and compensating whoever holds the fee or an easement for actual damage occasioned by the work.

How the parties settled it

They agree a trenching window outside the winter, a named contractor, a resurfacing specification and a fixed sum for damage paid before the machinery arrives.

Illustrative example

The owner of a landlocked parcel with no filed map and no grant of access in the deed reads the heading "easements of necessity" and assumes the section supplies a road.

How the wording applies

It does not. The right the section gives is to lay utility lines beneath a road the owner already has access over, by the filed map or by an express grant in the conveyance - it presupposes the access rather than creating it. Common law easements by necessity and by implication do exist in New York, but they come from case law and not from this text.

How the parties settled it

They negotiate a written right of way with the neighboring owner for a one-off payment and a share of the maintenance, recorded so that it binds whoever owns either parcel next.

Illustrative example

A lot owner whose access runs over a filed-map road wants to lay a gas line and a fiber duct in the same trench as the water line.

How the wording applies

The text lists electric light, telephone and water service, and does not name gas, sewer, drainage or broadband. So it turns on the service in question: the section's authority reaches the three it names, and anything else has to rest on a grant or an agreement between the owners.

How the parties settled it

The owner of the lane consents to the extra ducts in the same trench in exchange for a spare duct of his own being laid at the same time, and the arrangement is recorded as a written easement.

Related sections

N.Y. General Obligations Law § 5-703 Must Be in Writing: N.Y. General Obligations Law § 5-703 N.Y. Real Property Law § 240-c Sever Unilaterally by Deed: N.Y. Real Property Law § 240-c N.Y. General Obligations Law § 9-103 GOL § 9-103: no duty to make land safe for hikers, hunters and snowmobilers

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of N.Y. Real Property Law § 335-a in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in New York.

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