Easements
An easement is a right attached to a parcel of land which allows the proprietor of the parcel to use the land of another in a particular manner or to restrict its use to a particular extent.
Easements may be said to be either:
- express easements - that is, created by a deed between the grantor and the grantee, or incorporated in a Transfer of land form; or
- implied easements - that is, created as a consequence of another land grant or process.
Legislative overview
Statutory easements are those created by a right given under a statute. Usually, except as modified by statute, easements are required to contain the essential characteristics of an easement at common law to enable them to be registered under the Transfer of Land Act 1893 (TLA) (external link). The essential characteristics of an easement are provided in the Land titles registration practice manual (external link).
All easements may be granted and registered against both State land and fee simple land under the TLA. The relevant provisions for registering easements are set out in the TLA. The general law in respect of easements should also be taken into consideration.
Easements over State land are created under Part 8 of the Land Administration Act 1997 (external link) but can also be created under the general law and by agreement under the same principles as the creation of easements against fee simple land.
Administration and management procedures and practices
Chapter 8 of the Crown land administration and registration practice manual provides detailed information on easements, including:
- what is an easement;
- types of easements;
- how to create easements over State land; and
- removal of State easements.
