Profit A Prendre Law and Legal Definition
French term meaning “right of taking.” A profit a prendre is a right to take something off the land of another person. It is a right to enter the land of another person and to take some profit of the soil, or a portion of the soil itself, for the use of the owner of the right. A profit a prendre is clearly distinguishable from an easement. In an easement there is a nonpossessory interest in land generally giving a person only a right of way on the property of another. However, in profit a prendre, there is a right to take something off the land of another person.
Examples of profit a prendre include rights to:
- graze stock,
- plant and harvest crops,
- quarry stone, sand or gravel, or
- take timber.
An instrument creating a profit a prendre must clearly indicate the land which is subject to the burden and the land to which the benefit is appurtenant. A profit a prendre may exist in perpetuity or for a specified number of years. A profit a prendre may be varied in the same manner as an easement.
