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Find easements and access pits on your property

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An easement is an area of land on your property that councils and other authorities are allowed to access. 

Easements keep essential services running, including: 

  • stormwater drains
  • water supply
  • sewerage
  • technology for phone lines and TV broadcasting
  • power and gas.

They are often along the property boundary.

Check with us before doing any works that involve building over an easement. 

Diagram showing an easement on a property boundary. A pipe is along the back of the property behind the house.

An example of an easement on a property boundary. A pipe is along the back of the property behind the house. 

Find registered easements

Order a copy of your land title from the Landata website. 

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. 

For help with understanding your land title email [email protected].

Diagram that shows an example of an easement on a land title. The easement runs along the back of the property through 2 sections of divided land.

An example of an easement on a land title. The area behind the dotted line is the easement, 'E-1'. The easement runs through 2 subdivisions (divided land).

Find implied easements

An implied easement is the area above and 1 m to both sides of an underground pipe or pit. Implied easements aren’t listed on your land title.

To find an implied easement on your property:

  • Contact Before You Dig to find out the location of any underground stormwater or sewerage pipes.
  • Measure 1 m from either side of the pits or pipes. This is the implied easement.
Diagram of the cross-section of an implied easement .

An example of an implied easement. The easement runs above the underground pipe and 1 m along both sides.

Find access pits to an easement

Maintenance workers use access pits (manholes) to get into underground sewers or drains. 

To find access pits on your property:

  • Contact Before You Dig to find out the location of any pits on your property.
  • Hire a qualified plumber to find any pits that aren't visible.

You can't landscape or build over an access pit. Find out more about keeping access pits clear.

More information

For more information email us at [email protected].

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