Can you EVER build on an easement? Can you remove an easement?

So say there's an easement on your land and your land is reasonably well located. Say decades pass, time marches on, your suburb becomes more and more developed. But there's a big fat easement on your land. Eventually what happens?

 

What is the easement?

 

The one I'm looking at right now is over water supply mains

But I'm asking more generally, e.g. for different types of easements - which are 'solvable' and which are never 'solvable'?

 

We've got an easement across the backyard of our home (we're currently building on the site). It's a Yarra Valley Water sewer.

There's actually nothing there, just that the water utility wants it available, should they ever need to connect a sewer to the next neighbour through our backyard. Ironically the neighbour has also recently demolished and are building their own dream home without the need for an additional sewer. There's absolutely no chance that the easement would ever be required.

Despite this, the application to remove the easement was declined. We can't build a permanent structure over it. Our new house will have a odd shaped living room as a result.

We can build semi-permanent structures over it. A garden shed, pergola, or pathway aren't a problem as long as we understand they can be demolished at any time at the whim of the utilities company.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. So was it a DA application? What were the reasons they gave for refusal?

 

Easement removal was a separate application for the approval of the house being built. They don't have to give a reason for the refusal, and they didn't.

 

Hi Peter, is the easement specifically stated as in favour of Yarra Valley Water? Or is the easement in favour of 'lots on a plan', with the purpose as 'sewerage'?

 

And you CAN build on a easement. It just may mean you must demolish and clear the site at your cost....or theirs

This could be trivial. One for legal opinion and judgement. Eg a garden or structure that is sacrificial

 

Right but what about more permanent structures like apartments. Just thinking long term into the distant future. I find it hard to believe those lots in Sydney CBD or Darlinghurst or Surry Hills etc are all free of easements, or were for their entire history - there must be some sort of mechanism to remove easements when the area gets too developed... but how?

 

Surrender & regrant - you have much to learn Grasshopper.

 

I googled "surrender and regrant" and found Surrender and regrant - Wikipedia

I read it... it didn't help.

 

You may need a better library - Haven't read it for a while but Butts Land Law might be a shade better than wikipaedia

 

@Westminster - Westminster knows all about this

 

I still have the easement but I had 2 solutions for the 2 high density blocks I own with sewer pipes in it with easements
1. I built a *******' tunnel that a human being could go into to service the bloody pipe - and replaced the pipe whilst building the tunnel/wine cellar/body disposal site
2. designed the dwelling so that the sewer line runs in an area that can be dug up at ground floor level but it actually has first and second floor over it - if that makes sense. Our requirements was that it needed a clear height of 2400mm for bobcat to get in and dig, non permanent items so it's paved and room for bobcat to go in first gear and turn around. So I have parking over the sewer line. Many people in our state put paved driveways along them etc etc
3. option that I haven't done yet but is possible is redirect the sewer line. If it only services a couple of other houses it might be possible to move the sewer line for cheaper than building a tunnel or designing around.

 

My neighbour did just this. Last year he dug up the sewer line and rebuilt it at the rear of the property.

 

I hope that was approved.

Mate of mine had to apply and they charged an extortionate fee to move it and Sydney Water specified the contractor and the final cost was a cartel price IMO. His was moved under driveway to rear battle axe and a condition was it could be dug up. So had had stencil driveway made with a 1.3m wide "trench" marked with concrete expansion joints so they could cut the concrete along that line and remove it, excavate then refill and re-concrete. Years later they did that to fix a leak and it has a minor colour variance but it looks OK. he calls it the cricket pitch

 

Remind me to never go over to yours....

 

This is life goals

I once assisted a client who was applying to have the water line moved so they could change the location of the driveway to get their final approval to demolish and re-build with townhouses. Lots of plans, trades all quoted and everything submitted for approval. They did approve the works but with a lot of conditions and their own approved trades, quote for just that section of work was about $10k as opposed to the additional $3k it would have been on the build just to get their trades to do the work...... at the end of the day it didn't end up worth the hassle and they built fewer townhouses to work within the existing structure of the block.

Be prepared for a fight if you want to get it removed, personally, I would only ever build something I was prepared to sacrifice over an easement.

 

Depends on the easement, what - if anything, is in it, and the Authority.

 

Yes, you can. I just built over a sewer easement.
Expect lots of costs and headaches doing it.