You’ve spent three weeks planning the perfect location. Back corner of your Bentleigh block, maximum sun, good setbacks, perfect access. You’re ready to contact builders.
Then you check your property title and discover a 3-metre sewer easement running exactly where you planned to build.
Easements block roughly 30-40% of granny flat projects during initial planning. These legal restrictions (for sewer pipes, stormwater drains, or power cables) give utility providers access rights preventing permanent structures over infrastructure. For granny flats Melbourne homeowners, easements often force complete site redesigns or costly relocation work.
Here’s what different easement types restrict, whether you can build over them, relocation costs, and how to check your property before investing in design work.
Sewer easements run through roughly 50% of properties, favouring water authorities (Yarra Valley Water, South East Water, or City West Water). These protect underground sewer mains, typically along rear boundaries.
Water authorities prohibit permanent structures over sewer mains or within 600mm of connections. Building over sewer easements requires expensive pipe encasement or relocation.
Drainage easements protect stormwater infrastructure owned by councils or Melbourne Water, running along boundaries following water flow. Councils prohibit permanent structures over drainage more strictly than sewer (most won’t approve any building regardless of encasement). Melbourne Water requires buildings outside easements or minimum 5-metre clearance.
Power and utility easements protect underground electricity or gas lines. Less common but create similar restrictions.
Very little that’s permanent or habitable.
Water authorities consider build-over applications for sewer easements but require strict conditions. Acceptable structures include lightweight carports (removable without major demolition), fences and gates, permeable driveways using pavers on sand, and eaves encroaching maximum 600mm.
What authorities won’t approve: habitable rooms over sewer mains, foundations within 600mm of pipes, permanent concrete structures, and anything preventing excavator access. Since granny flats are permanent habitable structures requiring foundations, they fundamentally conflict with easement purposes.
Some councils allow small sheds (under 4m² floor area) within drainage easements depending on flow requirements. Check your council’s requirements before assuming anything is permitted.
If your ideal location sits over a sewer easement, encasement offers a solution at significant cost.
Encasement involves excavating around sewer pipes, constructing reinforced concrete boxes around them (base, walls, roof), and backfilling to allow building above while protecting pipe access.
Industry estimates suggest costs typically run $5,000-$15,000 depending on easement length, pipe depth, and site access. A typical 15-20 metre section costs approximately $7,000-$10,000. Deep pipes or difficult access push costs higher.
The process requires water authority approval, engineering certification, council building permit, and coordinated timing (encasement completes before foundation work).
Many homeowners discover encasement costs after paying for designs, making it an unpleasant budget surprise. Some find the estimated $8,000 expense plus 2-3 weeks timeline makes alternative siting more attractive.
For properties where encasement proves uneconomical or won’t get approved, infrastructure relocation offers an alternative, typically more expensive than encasement.
Sewer relocation involves rerouting pipes around your planned location, obtaining new easement positions, and connecting to existing infrastructure. This works best when easements cross through your block’s middle rather than running along boundaries.
Industry estimates suggest relocation costs vary enormously: approximately $8,000-$25,000 depending on rerouting distance, depth, and connection complexity. Properties requiring 30+ metres of new lines or significant depth changes face higher estimated costs.
Water authorities charge connection fees and require engineering approvals. The process typically adds 6-12 weeks to timelines. Some homeowners find relocation worthwhile when it opens significantly better building locations, but many opt for site redesigns.
Drainage relocation proves even harder since councils rarely approve stormwater infrastructure changes affecting broader drainage networks.
Before investing in designs or quotes, verify easement locations to save thousands in aborted plans.
Section 32 statement from your conveyancer shows all registered easements and controlling authorities. Estimated cost: $300-$500 if you don’t have recent copies.
Title search through Land Victoria (approximately $30) shows all encumbrances including easements, though not exact physical locations.
Dial Before You Dig (1100) provides free underground service location marking utilities within 5 business days.
Surveyor for precise easement location if boundaries aren’t clearly defined. Industry estimates suggest costs of $800-$1,500.
Many builders include preliminary title checks and Dial Before You Dig as part of initial site assessments.
For properties with challenging easement positions, smart site planning often avoids expensive encasement or relocation.
Redesign the footprint to fit between or around easements. Our 60m² floor plans can be oriented differently on blocks. A 10m × 6m building might not fit east-west but works north-south avoiding the easement.
Shift the location to another part of your property. Rear boundaries commonly carry sewer easements, but moving toward the side boundary (maintaining setbacks) often clears the easement.
Use the easement area for private open space, landscaping, permeable driveways, or lightweight carports councils often approve.
Properties with easements consuming most buildable space sometimes cannot accommodate 60m² structures without encasement or relocation. This typically affects narrow blocks (under 15m width) with rear sewer easements.
Ready to check whether easements affect your block’s viability? Contact us for preliminary title review and site assessment identifying easement positions before design work.
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