A registered right that allows one party to use part of another party's land for a specific purpose, such as a right of way, a drainage line, or a power line.
An easement is a registered right that allows one party to use part of another party’s land for a specific purpose. The most common easements are rights of way (to drive over a shared driveway), drainage easements (for stormwater or sewer pipes that cross the land), and utility easements (for power, telecoms, or gas lines).
Plain-English example
A back-section in Mt Eden has a driveway running along the side of the front-section property. The driveway is on the front property’s title, but the back-section owner has a registered right of way. That right of way is an easement. Both owners can use it for vehicles, but the front owner cannot block it, fence it off, or build on it without breaching the easement.
Drainage easements work similarly. If your stormwater drain runs through next door’s lawn before reaching the council main, there will usually be a drainage easement registered on next door’s title. They cannot build a deck over the line without consent.
Why it matters
Easements run with the land. They survive sales. The new owner is bound by them whether they read the title carefully or not. If a buyer does not know about an easement before signing, they can end up owning land they cannot fully use, or owing obligations to a neighbour they did not expect.
Some easements add value (a right of way that lets a back section access the road). Some constrain value (a drainage easement that runs straight under the only buildable part of the property). Lenders care about both. Banks sometimes refuse to lend on properties with unusual easement structures, especially shared driveways with poorly drafted easement documents.
Who needs to care
Every buyer of NZ residential or commercial property needs to know what easements affect the title. The Record of Title lists registered easements. The full instruments are linked from the title and contain the actual rights, obligations, and any maintenance contributions.
Subdividers and developers need to plan easements before lodging a scheme plan. Power, water, fibre, and stormwater all need to be considered. Easements drafted at subdivision are usually permanent.
What NZ Legal does for it
We pull the title and every easement instrument as standard practice on every conveyance. We read them. We flag anything unusual to the buyer, including maintenance contribution clauses, exclusive use carve-outs, and cross-lease style restrictions that look like easements but are not. We also draft new easements when a property is being subdivided or when a neighbour wants to formalise an existing arrangement.
Send us the title and the easement instruments and we will tell you what each one means in plain English.
Related glossary terms
-
Encumbrance
Any registered interest on a property title that affects ownership, including mortgages, easements, covenants, and caveats. The umbrella term for the things that show up on a Record of Title beyond ownership.
-
Defective Title
A property title with a registration error, a flat plan that does not match the building, an unconsented improvement, or any other defect that limits saleability or registration. Common in older cross lease properties.
