You're going through the contract, you spot the word easement, and suddenly you're not sure if you're still buying a backyard or signing one away.
Most of the time an easement isn't a deal-breaker. But it does change what you can do with the land — sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. This guide explains what easements are, how to find them, and the questions to ask your conveyancer before you sign.
The 30-second version
An easement is a legal right for someone to use part of your land for a specific purpose. They don't own it. You still do. They're just allowed on it.
Common examples:
- The council holds an easement over the back corner of your block so they can dig up the stormwater drain when it blocks.
- The neighbour has a registered right of way across your driveway because their garage is behind your land.
- Energex has a services easement under the side fence so they can run power lines.
The easement is registered on the title and transfers with the land. When you buy, you inherit it. When you sell, the next buyer inherits it from you.
The two halves of every easement
🏡 Dominant tenement
The one that BENEFITS
- Gains the right to use the other land
- Doesn't own it — just uses it for the agreed purpose
- Usually responsible for upkeep of whatever it uses
e.g. the neighbour with the right of way over your driveway
🚧 Servient tenement
The one that's BURDENED
- Must allow the agreed use
- Keeps ownership, but use is restricted
- Can't build over or block the easement area
e.g. you, if your driveway is the one being driven across
If the property you're buying is the servient tenement, that's the one to think about — because the restriction sticks with the land, not the seller.
The common types you'll actually see
Not every easement type matters to a first home buyer. These are the ones that turn up most often on QLD title searches.
- Right of way. Someone (usually a neighbour or the council) is allowed to cross your land to get somewhere. Most common with battle-axe blocks, rear lots, and shared driveways.
- Services easement. Utility companies — water, sewer, power, telco — have the right to run, access and maintain their infrastructure. Often shown as a strip along a boundary.
- Drainage / stormwater easement. Council or the body corporate has the right to put pipes under your land and dig them up when needed. Very common in QLD subdivisions.
- Easement of support. Mostly for adjoining units or townhouses — one building structurally supports the next, and that support can't be removed.
- Party wall. A shared wall between two properties (think duplexes). Both owners have rights and responsibilities for it.
- Easement in gross. Doesn't benefit another piece of land — it benefits a person or organisation. Energex easements are usually this kind.
- Implied easement. Not written down, but the courts may recognise it because the use has gone on for so long. Rare, but worth knowing it's a thing.
What each easement type actually means for you as the buyer
Someone gets to cross your land. Can't block it, fence it off, or build on it.
Utility company can dig up that strip when they need to. Don't build a deck over it.
Council pipe runs underneath. No pools, slabs or trees with serious roots above it.
Common in townhouses and units. You can't knock out a structural wall.
Shared wall with the neighbour. Repairs and changes need both sides on board.
Held by a person or company (often Energex, Urban Utilities). Same restriction, different beneficiary.
The label matters less than the terms. Two "right of way" easements can have completely different conditions — your conveyancer reads the actual wording.
How to find out if a property has one (before you sign)
You don't have to take the agent's word for it. There are five places easements show up:
- Title search. Every registered easement is listed against the title. Your conveyancer pulls one through Titles Queensland as a standard part of the contract review.
- Form 2 (Seller Disclosure Statement). Since 1 August 2025, QLD sellers must give you a Form 2 before you sign. It discloses registered encumbrances on the title — easements included.
- Plan of subdivision / survey plan. The plan attached to the title shows where easements physically sit on the block. This is the bit you actually want to see.
- Dealings search. The title search names the easement but not the terms. A dealings search pulls the full registered document so you can read what's allowed and what isn't.
- Council and utility records. Some infrastructure exists as a statutory encumbrance rather than a registered easement — meaning it's not on the title at all. Sewer mains run by Urban Utilities are a common example. A search of council and water authority records picks these up.
The order your conveyancer works through it
1. Form 2
Seller flags what's on title
2. Title search
Confirms what's registered
3. Plan
Shows where on the block
4. Dealings
Reads the actual terms
5. Council
Picks up unregistered stuff
If Form 2 is missing or wrong on a registered encumbrance, you have a statutory right to terminate any time before settlement and get your deposit back.
What an easement can stop you doing
Most easements don't ruin a property. But they can quietly kill specific plans:
- Building over the top. No pools, sheds, granny flats, decks or carports inside an easement area. Even paving can sometimes be a problem.
- Renovations and extensions. A back extension that pushes into a drainage easement won't get council approval.
- Big landscaping. Trees with strong root systems near a sewer or stormwater easement get refused.
- Fences and gates. Can't block a right of way, even with a removable gate, unless the dominant owner agrees.
- Maintenance costs. If you have a right-of-way over someone else's land, you're usually the one paying to keep the surface useable.
- Resale appeal. Heavy restrictions can narrow your buyer pool when you sell.
It's not all downside. Some easements work in your favour — for example, a registered right of way to your property is the reason you can actually access it.
A real-world example
A QLD client buys a leafy 700m² block. The plan shows a 3m-wide drainage easement running diagonally across the rear corner where they were planning a pool.
The easement allows council to enter the land and access the stormwater main below it. Building a pool over the easement isn't impossible, but it requires council consent, a build-over agreement, and engineering — easily $10K–$30K of extra cost, and council can refuse outright.
The property was still worth buying. The pool plan shifted to the side of the block instead. They only knew this before signing because the conveyancer checked the dealings search and the plan — not just the title.
State-by-state nuances
The mechanics are similar across NSW, QLD and VIC, but the disclosure rules are different.
How easement disclosure works in each state
| State | Where easements are disclosed | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| QLD | Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement + title search. Detailed terms via a dealings search. | Statutory encumbrances (sewer, water mains) sit off-title — separate council and Urban Utilities searches needed. |
| NSW | Registered on title and disclosed in the contract for sale. Section 149 planning certificate flags some restrictions. | Older properties may have "easements at common law" that aren't on title. Survey reports help. |
| VIC | Section 32 Vendor Statement lists easements, covenants and restrictions. Title search confirms. | Implied easements and covenants on subdivisions can restrict building envelopes — read carefully. |
In every state the rule is the same: registered easements transfer with the land. If you buy, you inherit them.
Can an easement be removed?
Sometimes — but it's rarely quick or cheap.
You generally need either:
- Agreement from the party who benefits (the dominant tenement). They sign a release, you lodge it at Titles Queensland.
- A court order under the Property Law Act 1974 (or the new Property Law Act 2023 once an easement falls under it). Courts can extinguish or modify easements that have become obsolete, impede reasonable use, or where the benefiting party agrees in principle but won't formalise.
Either path runs through your conveyancer or solicitor. If removing an easement is critical to why you want the property, don't sign assuming it'll happen later. Make it a special condition of the contract — or walk.
When to be cautious, when to keep going
How to react when an easement turns up
Sewer easement under the front yard, services strip along the boundary you weren't using. Note it, move on.
Plans to extend, pool, granny flat, subdivide? Get the dealings search and have a builder or building consultant check it before you commit.
The risk isn't the easement itself — it's buying without knowing and finding out when council knocks back the DA two years later.
When to call your conveyancer
Call the moment you see "easement" mentioned and you don't fully understand:
- What kind of easement it is
- Where exactly it sits on the block
- What you're allowed and not allowed to do over it
- Whether it affects the use you're buying the property for
A 30-minute conversation before you sign is dramatically cheaper than discovering an easement blocks your build after settlement.
What's next
This is general info, not legal advice for your situation. Every easement is different — the wording on the registered dealing is what matters, not the label.
Zettle offers a free contract review worth $275. A Queensland conveyancer reads your contract, pulls the title and the dealings, and tells you exactly what each easement means for your plans — before you sign.
Get your free contract review →