Buying a Property with an Easement in Victoria: What to Check Before You Sign

Buying a property with an easement in Victoria starts with a practical question: can the land support what you intend to do? A coloured strip on a map cannot answer that alone. Check the registered documents, identify any physical assets and ask the relevant authority about the actual proposal. Keep unresolved items visible before making the purchase decision. An easement is neither an automatic reason to reject every property nor evidence that a backyard can accommodate another dwelling.

1. Separate the map, the title and the ground

Treat a map layer as a prompt for investigation. It may help identify an area to examine, but it is not a substitute for reading the property's records or establishing what is physically present.

Land Use Victoria explains that a current title search records registered information, while a separate instrument search can supply referenced plans and other documents. It also says boundary diagrams are indicative: a licensed surveyor determines the actual boundary location. A fence or an aerial image is therefore not a measured boundary check. Land Use Victoria guidance.

Start an evidence list with the source and date, rather than marking the site simply “clear” or “restricted”.

2. Read the right documents for this property

Ask your conveyancer or property lawyer to review the current title, relevant plan and the document creating or describing the easement. Identify the affected land, the beneficiary and the purpose. Do not assume two similar-looking strips carry identical rights.

Record the questions in plain language: where is it, who holds the right, what access is contemplated, and what might conflict with the intended use? If a document is missing or difficult to interpret, record that gap. The Section 32 due-diligence guide helps organise the wider contract review; it does not replace legal advice on the particular instrument.

3. Check physical assets even when the map looks empty

A registered easement and a pipe are different pieces of evidence. Melbourne Water notes that some of its critical assets do not have easements. An empty-looking title or tool layer is not enough to rule out an asset enquiry. Melbourne Water asset guidance.

Identify the relevant asset owner and request the information needed for your proposal. Keep the response with the site file and check whether it establishes an approximate asset location or calls for further investigation. “No information supplied” should remain an open question, rather than become “nothing underground”. Do not expose or excavate a suspected service yourself to settle the issue.

4. Use Melbourne Water as a scoped example, not a universal rule

Melbourne Water's current guidance requires its consent for proposed works over or within five metres of its easements or underground assets. Its assessment considers matters such as asset protection, access, clearances and foundations. The same guidance lists habitable buildings as prohibited over Melbourne Water assets: consent for a fence or driveway should not be read as permission for a dwelling. These requirements concern Melbourne Water infrastructure; they are not a five-metre rule for every Victorian easement. Application guidance.

Take the actual proposal to the appropriate authority: the structure, location and intended work. Ask what information and approval are needed. Melbourne Water has different processes for different work and assets. An enquiry response is not automatically consent, and its consent is not the complete planning or building approval. Works and approval pathways.

5. Ask for records of existing structures

A shed, driveway, deck or dwelling may already occupy the area you want to use. Its presence does not resolve the document question. Ask for relevant plans, permits, authority correspondence and completion records, then check that they relate to this structure and location.

Where evidence is missing, ask the relevant legal, building or engineering professional what further review is appropriate. Do not label a structure approved or unlawful solely from a photograph. CAV describes its buyer checklist as a starting point that can require professional advice. CAV due-diligence checklist.

6. Turn uncertainty into a useful purchase checklist

Use a short working table: the intended use; the document or observation supporting it; the unresolved question; the person responsible for checking it; and the next action. Keep confirmed, awaiting evidence and not applicable as separate outcomes.

For a proposed granny flat, ask whether the current layout can be assessed with the constraints identified, rather than estimating a sale or rental premium. Coordinate legal review, survey and design advice as needed. Discuss any proposed contract condition with your lawyer instead of copying a generic clause. For the broader planning screen, see Victorian planning overlays; a planning layer answers a different question from an easement instrument.

7. Keep the intended project and its budget connected

Before relying on a building quote, establish what site information the designer and builder have actually assessed. CAV's plans-and-permits guidance connects plans with foundation information, council requirements and survey evidence where needed. Plans and permits checklist.

Record whether investigation, consent work and any required redesign are included, excluded or still unknown. Do not attach a standard price discount or site-cost allowance to every easement. A buyer's useful outcome is a documented decision about the intended property, not a blanket verdict about all land with an easement. The buyers' due-diligence process explains how these investigations fit together.

Questions buyers ask

Should I reject every property with an easement?

No. Assess the specific rights, physical assets and intended use. An unresolved constraint needs investigation; the label alone does not decide the purchase.

Does a title without a visible easement prove there are no pipes?

No. Physical assets and registered rights are separate checks. Identify the relevant asset owner and obtain appropriate information.

Does council approval replace the asset owner’s consent?

Do not treat them as interchangeable. Confirm the separate requirements for the proposal with the relevant authority and building professionals.

Is five metres the rule for every Victorian easement?

No. The example above is Melbourne Water’s published requirement for its assets and easements. Other rights and authorities need their own review.

Can the fence establish the legal boundary?

Do not rely on it as a boundary survey. Land Use Victoria identifies a licensed surveyor as the professional who determines actual boundary location.

Does an existing structure prove it has the necessary approvals?

Its presence alone does not. Request the relevant records and have any gaps assessed before relying on the structure or a future proposal.