Easements

An easement is a defined area of land registered on a land title that gives Council, or other authorities, access rights through your property. Typically they are used for the maintenance, installation, replacement or upgrades of essential drainage (sewerage/water), electricity, or telecommunications infrastructure.

Drainage easements are usually sited along the side or rear of the property and may contain drains which service a number of adjacent properties.

How do I find whether my property has an easement?

Use our step by step guide (below) on how to order a copy of title from Landata along with your title plan diagram/plan of subdivision which will show easement information.

If there are registered easements on your property, the land title will have an 'easements information' section that lists:

the purpose of the easement, for example drainage or sewerage
the authority responsible for the easement (called 'Land Benefited in Favour Of'), for example Yarra Valley Water.

The land title will indicate easements as shown in this example below.

What consent is required?

If you are proposing to build a structure (for example a fence, shed, garage, pergola, dwelling, office, shop or factory) over an easement, you may be required to make an application to Council under Regulation 130 of the Building Regulations 2018 for 'Building Works within an Easement'. Please refer to the application form below.

Easement locations are typically shown on your title plan along with what service authorities have a vested interest in the easement, for example this can include drainage, sewerage and/or electricity.

Consent of Council

The consent of Council is required if your proposed build will encroach over any part of that easement which Council has set aside for drainage. To apply, please complete the form below.

Consent of the relevant service authority

If the easement does not relate to drainage and Council do not have a vested interested, consent may only be required from the relevant service authority. For example this could include Westernport Water or South Gippsland Water who have a vested interest is sewage assets, where this is the case you will need to contact that authority for consent. If the easement includes multiple service authority assets it is possible that multiple consents need to be obtained.

Section 173 Agreements

Should consent be granted to build over an easement it is possible that a Section 173 Agreement will be required, this is a legal agreement between the responsible authority (e.g. Council) and the owner of the land that is registered on your Certificate of Title. The agreements records that Council has given consent for a specific building or structure over an easement. As the ownership of a property may change during the life of the building or structure, Council needs an agreement that can be transferred to and is binding with future owners of the property therefore a Section 173 Agreement is registered on your Certificate of Title.

To find out if your title contains a Section 173 Agreement or to obtain a copy of the agreement please refer to this guide.

For more information or assistance, please contact us on 1300 BCOAST (226 278) or (03) 5671 2211.

What is the turnaround time for the application?

There are various factors which impact the timeframe to receiving a decision, including insufficient information submitted, and whether a Section 173 Agreement is required. As a guide we ask you allow approximate 3-4 weeks from the date of lodgement.

How do I check the progress of my application?

Please e-mail basscoast@basscoast.vic.gov.au. if you have not had correspondence from 3-4 weeks since lodgement.