Titles, Easements & Covenants: Complete Guide

A record of title sets out the legal identity of a property. It contains the legal description of the land, ownership details, registered interests and any overlays affecting use. Although it is usually only a few pages long, everything on that record carries legal weight. When you buy or sell property, a lawyer examines the title both to confirm the seller actually owns what they are selling and to identify any limitations on your intended use of the land.

The title also forms part of the contract between the parties. If the buyer has not been properly informed of what is registered against the title, they may have grounds to delay settlement or cancel the agreement. For that reason, a title search early in the transaction is essential. Even seemingly minor items, old easements, outdated covenants, lapsed leases can have real commercial or practical consequences.

Not all titles are equal. Freehold titles give the owner the broadest control, but many properties are cross-lease, unit title or leasehold. Each structure introduces rights and obligations that are not immediately obvious from the sale price or the photos on a listing.

Cross-lease properties involve shared ownership of the underlying land with leases over the individual dwellings. Alterations or rebuilding often require the approval of every co-owner, which can slow or stop plans entirely. Unit titles come with body corporate levies, long-term maintenance plans and rules that regulate how you use your unit and common property. Leasehold land separates ownership of the home from ownership of the land underneath, meaning annual ground rent reviews, complex valuation mechanisms and potential sharp cost increases. Understanding the title type is often more important than understanding the house itself.

An easement gives someone else a legal right to use or access part of your land for a specific purpose. The most common are rights of way, rights to drain stormwater or wastewater through neighbouring land, and rights to install and maintain services such as power or telecommunications.

Easements benefit one property and burden another. The landowner cannot simply revoke the right once it is registered, and any buyer inherits both the benefit and the burden. A poorly drafted or outdated easement can restrict where you build, change your driveway layout, or dictate who pays for maintenance. Modern subdivisions often use easement instruments to allocate responsibility for shared accessways, turning circles, retaining walls, pipes and cables. Lawyers review the exact wording, identify maintenance obligations, and flag risks so you are not locked into unexpected cost-sharing arrangements.

Covenants are binding promises that regulate how land may be used. Developers commonly register covenants to maintain a consistent standard across a neighbourhood—setting rules for building materials, house size, fencing, pets or landscaping. Some covenants restrict commercial use, prohibit additional dwellings, or require design approval from a developer or residents’ committee.

Although they can protect amenity values, covenants can also limit your plans. Renovations may require approval, certain cladding types or colours may be banned, and some covenants prevent minor dwellings or home-based businesses. Because covenants “run with the land”, they remain in force even if the original developer is long gone. A lawyer checks both the wording and the mechanism for enforcement.

Title issues are one of the most common sources of delay in property transactions. Buyers may discover unconsented structures that encroach on an easement area, missing rights of way, or covenants that make the intended use impossible. In older properties, stormwater or sewer lines may cross neighbouring land without any registered easement, creating compliance issues if you plan to renovate.

When problems arise, the seller may need to obtain neighbour consent, register new easements, or amend boundaries before settlement. These steps take time and cooperation, which can be challenging in a tight settlement period.

Easements and covenants can sometimes be removed or varied, but the process is rarely straightforward. Most require agreement from all parties who benefit from the restriction, meaning every affected neighbour may need to sign. If the change is part of a subdivision, approval from authorities may also be required.

In limited situations, courts can modify or extinguish covenants that have become obsolete or unreasonable, but this is a specialist process requiring evidence and legal submissions. Lawyers assess whether the change is realistically achievable before clients commit to plans that depend on removing a restriction.

A property lawyer’s role is not just to read the title but to interpret how each interest affects your use, value and future plans. They check whether the legal boundaries match physical boundaries, whether easements align with actual access or service locations, and whether covenants limit renovations or future development potential. They also advise on negotiation strategies when issues arise, such as retaining purchase price, requesting variations, or making the agreement conditional on resolving defects.

For sellers, lawyers ensure the title is presented cleanly, draft variations when needed, and resolve legacy issues before listing the property. For developers, they create easement and covenant instruments that are legally sound, enforceable and future-proofed.