Easements in Gross Explained

An easement is a registered right for someone other than the owner to use part of a property for a specific purpose, most commonly to run drainage, sewer or power infrastructure through it, or to access another property across it. Most easements are "appurtenant," meaning the right is attached to and benefits a neighbouring piece of land, known as the dominant tenement, and passes automatically to whoever owns that land. An easement in gross works differently: it benefits a specific person, company or authority directly, rather than a neighbouring block of land, and it can exist even where there is no dominant tenement at all.

Easement in Gross vs a Standard Easement

The practical difference comes down to who can enforce and benefit from the right. With an ordinary appurtenant easement, the benefit sits with whichever land is legally defined as the dominant tenement, so a new owner of that land automatically inherits the right along with the property. With an easement in gross, the benefit sits with the specific entity named on the title, commonly a utility provider, council or state authority, and it does not shift if a neighbouring property changes hands. Under general law, an easement cannot usually exist without a dominant tenement, so most easements in gross in Australia are created under specific statutory provisions that allow authorities to hold them directly.

Who Typically Holds an Easement in Gross

These easements are almost always held by bodies that need ongoing physical access to land for infrastructure they own and maintain, such as water authorities, electricity distributors, telecommunications carriers and local councils. Common examples include an easement for underground stormwater or sewer pipes, one for overhead or underground power lines, or one allowing council access to a drainage reserve. Because these authorities serve an entire area rather than a single neighbouring property, an easement in gross lets them secure the access they need without tying it to a particular parcel of dominant land.

Where You Will Find It on Your Title

Easements in gross are registered on the title and shown on the deposited or registered plan for the lot, alongside any other easements, covenants and encumbrances affecting the property. Your conveyancer identifies these during a standard title search and will check the plan carefully to establish exactly where the easement sits on the block and what it permits. Because an easement in gross does not reference a dominant tenement, it can sometimes be less obvious on a quick read of the title than an appurtenant easement, which is one reason a proper registered plan review matters as much as the title itself.

How It Can Affect What You Can Do With the Property

An easement in gross typically restricts what an owner can build, plant or excavate within the easement area, since the authority holding the right needs to be able to access and maintain its infrastructure without obstruction. This can affect where you can put a pool, shed, driveway or extension, and in some cases restricts even fencing or deep-rooted trees within the easement zone. For a subdivision or larger development site, the presence and width of an easement in gross can materially affect how much of the land is actually usable, so it needs to be factored into any feasibility assessment well before contracts are signed.

Buying a Property With an Easement in Gross

An easement in gross on its own is rarely a reason to walk away from a purchase, since most residential blocks in established suburbs carry at least one for drainage or services. What matters is understanding exactly where it runs, what it restricts, and whether your intended use of the property, such as a planned extension or a granny flat, would conflict with it. This applies equally to commercial buyers, including those buying a retail shop where a rear-loading easement or service easement in gross can affect access arrangements for deliveries or signage.

Removing or Varying an Easement in Gross

Because the benefit belongs to a specific authority rather than a neighbour, removing or varying an easement in gross means negotiating directly with that authority, which is often a slower and more formal process than resolving matters between two private landowners. According to Landgate's guidance on easements in Western Australia, the right to release, vary or discharge an easement in gross generally rests with the authority or body in whose favour it was created, not with the landowner alone. If infrastructure has been decommissioned and is genuinely no longer needed, it is sometimes possible to have the relevant authority formally surrender the easement, but this can take considerable time and should never be assumed before settlement.

Checking Before You Exchange Contracts

Because an easement in gross is a registered interest, it survives a change of ownership regardless of whether it is specifically mentioned in the contract of sale, which is why a proper title and plan search before exchange matters so much. If you are unsure whether a particular easement is appurtenant or in gross, or what its terms actually permit, your conveyancer can request further detail from the authority named on the title before you commit to a purchase.

It is also sensible to ask the current owner directly whether the authority holding the easement has ever needed to exercise its rights, for example by digging up part of the yard to repair a main. Past access does not necessarily indicate a problem, but it does confirm that the easement is a genuine, active interest rather than a historical notation left over from an earlier stage of the land's development. Combining that conversation with a careful reading of the title and plan gives a much clearer picture than either source on its own.