What are the “Easements” of land in New Zealand? 

If you want to buy a house and a piece of land in New Zealand, you must pay more attention when the word eastment(s) appears in the land information. Eastment(s) means “easement,” which is a legal instrument that gives someone or a party the right to use someone else’s land in a particular way. In the New Zealand Land Transfer Act, the provisions on easements were continuously amended in 2017 to meet the needs of modernization, but the basic principles of easements remain unchanged. 

The most recent principle is that easements do not grant ownership of land, but only the right to use part of the land. 

Easements have many different purposes, common examples include: 

• The right of way, which is more complex, can be unlimited or may be limited, and some restrictions may be imposed on the right of way, such as the time of use, the area of use or the nature of the traffic that may be passed, or the person who has the right to use it 
• The right to transport water, electricity, telecommunications and telecommunications cables 
• Right to discharge water or sewage (upper water pipe sewer pipe) 
• Retaining walls (shared by both parties), for example, a fireshield wall between row houses or terraced plots 
• Eaves, not only land, in the air eaves also have “air rights”, for example, the cornice of the house is very close to others, blocking the light is a problem 

Easements can limit time, space, and expenses, such as: 

• It may be provided that the “easement” lasts forever; Or the easement is only for a certain period of time, say ten years 
• It can be specified whether it is all land or part of the land 
• It may be prescribed how much rent or compensation should be paid for the use of the land 
• Easements can also be created, changed, abandoned, abolished, enforced, and so on 

Easements are a relatively complex thing, and it is not uncommon for “landlords and beneficiaries” to be court-to-court every year. However, the easement is not a flood beast, most of the land with easement is what kind of municipal pipelines, underwater water, telecommunications fibers occasionally need to be maintained, to build on your land, the relevant companies must also greet the owner of the land before construction. 

The eastment of all house land is detailed in the LINZ Report. Easements on particularly old or disputed land may not be very clear, and it is best to be less touched. 

As for the other easements that may affect the valuation of the house, you need to study it yourself when buying a house. For example, if there is a path next to a house that leads to another street, this path must be open to the public even if it is on your land for the public’s benefit, harassing your right to privacy. Or, if you have a main municipal pipeline under your land, which is responsible for the sewing, and because it is often blocked because of disrepair, the infrastructure maintenance company has to go to your front door or yard every one or two years to plan a pit, which is really annoying, and it is definitely something that affects the house price.