You’re a week from settling on a house, or a week from pouring a slab, and the certificate of title shows a strip across the back of the block marked as an easement. Is the shed sitting on it? Can the extension go there? An easement SA search should answer those questions before you spend money on plans or concrete, not after the builder has already dug.
Most owners never think about easements until one gets in the way. An easement is a recorded fact, and you can read it before you commit. This guide explains what drainage and right of way easements are, how they affect building and subdividing, and where a survey helps. If you already know what you need, tell us what the survey is for and we’ll put you in touch with an independent Licensed Surveyor who quotes and contracts with you directly.
What an easement on title SA actually is
An easement is a legal right for someone other than the owner to use, or to have access to, a strip of your land for a specific purpose. You still own the land. You just don’t have the run of that strip in the way you have the run of the rest of the block.
The right is recorded against the land, so it stays put when the property is sold. It shows on the certificate of title, and the position of the strip is drawn on the registered plan. Our guide to the certificate of title in SA walks through how to read them.
Two parties are always involved. One benefits from the easement and the other carries the burden. Sometimes you carry the burden and a neighbour, SA Water or the council holds the right. Sometimes your block benefits, such as a shared driveway over someone else’s land.
The title tells you an easement exists and what it’s for. Where it sits relative to your fence, wall and shed is a different question, and that’s where a survey comes in.
Drainage easement SA, right of way and service easements compared
Easements come in a handful of common forms. The wording on your title decides which one you have, so treat the table as a guide to the questions worth asking, not a substitute for reading your own documents.
| Type of easement | Typical purpose | Who usually holds the right | What it can mean for you | First person to ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drainage easement | Carrying stormwater or drainage across a block | A neighbour, the council or a public authority, depending on the title | Limits on building over or close to the strip; access for maintenance | The holder named on the title, and your council |
| Sewer or water service easement | Running a main or connection through private land | A utility such as SA Water, depending on the title | Restrictions near pipes; the holder may need access for repairs | SA Water |
| Right of way easement | Access across one block to reach another | The owner of the block that benefits | Others may drive or walk over the strip; you may not be able to fence or block it | Your conveyancer or solicitor |
| Other service easements | Power, communications and similar services | The relevant service provider, depending on the title | Restrictions near infrastructure | The provider named on the title |
Two things to notice. “Can mean for you” is deliberately soft: what you can and cannot do depends on the exact wording, the holder’s requirements and the planning rules for your site. And the first phone call is rarely to a surveyor. A conveyancer or solicitor reads the wording, and the holder or council answers the practical question about building.
Building on or near an easement
This is where owners get caught. A design goes to council with a carport or extension drawn across a strip nobody checked, or a shed goes up years before a buyer comes along and reads the title.
Consider a Mount Barker buyer checking a shed before signing. The contract shows an easement along the rear boundary, and the shed sits close to that back fence. The buyer’s conveyancer can read the title, but only a measurement on the ground shows whether the shed footprint crosses into the strip. If it does, the question becomes what the easement holder will accept, and that’s a conversation for the conveyancer and the holder, not something to guess at from the driveway.
The South Australian Surveyors Board recommends engaging a Licensed Surveyor when buying or selling to be aware of any encroachments, and when building on or near a land boundary. An encroachment is described by the SA Government as a structure that intrudes onto another person’s land and crosses the legal boundary, which can include buildings, driveways, eaves and balconies. An easement isn’t an encroachment, but the same ground measurements find both problems.
Now picture a Salisbury owner with a 1960s brick home who wants a rear extension. The designer has a title with a drainage easement running behind the house and needs to know how far the existing walls and the proposed addition sit from that strip and from the boundary. The usual way to get the existing levels and boundary offsets a council site plan must show is a feature and level survey. Surveyors quote each job, and the price depends on the block, the evidence on site and the survey type. Nationally, one cost guide (EastWest Surveyors, 16 November 2025, GST not stated) puts feature and level or contour work at AUD $1,500 to $4,500, but that’s a national range, not an Adelaide price. An Adelaide surveyor quotes your block.
A development application needs a site plan drawn to scale showing the boundaries and dimensions of the site, the distance from each proposed building to the boundaries, and existing and proposed levels. Whether your council or the easement holder will accept a building close to or over an easement is a separate decision, and the survey doesn’t answer it. Ask the council and the holder early. Our guide to feature surveys for a development application sets out what the site plan has to carry.
Splitting a block that has an easement on it
An easement doesn’t stop a land division by itself, but it shapes the plan. Land division plans generally must show all existing registered easements, along with topographic features and the buildings intended to be kept or demolished (Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017, Schedule 8 clause 7). A deemed-to-satisfy division has a lighter plan requirement, so what applies to your block depends on the type of division.
Take a 1960s brick home on a 900 m2 block in Campbelltown that the owners want to split. The title shows a drainage easement along the side boundary. The new rear allotment, its access and the existing house all have to work around that strip. Whether the division is allowed depends on the zone and any overlays in the Planning and Design Code, and the surveyor or the council checks that for your site. We can’t tell you a block can be split.
Cost is the other half of the conversation. One Adelaide surveying firm, Sawley Lock O’Callaghan, says a standard one-into-two land division in the Adelaide metropolitan area costs in the order of $30,000 to $34,000 (page modified 12 May 2025, GST not stated). That figure includes state and council fees, Land Services SA plan fees, surveyor and consultancy fees, conveyancer or solicitor fees and SA Water water and sewer fees. Its own caveat is that SA Water may charge non-standard costs for water or sewer extensions, deeper connection pits or dewatering, which “could increase the costs significantly”. Power and NBN connection are extra. A site condition such as an easement can move the numbers, so ask each professional what they have assumed.
Some of the statutory fees are published for 2026-27. The open space contribution in Greater Adelaide is $10,166.00 per new allotment, and a 2-lot Torrens division creates one new allotment. Land Services SA plan fees from 1 July 2026 for a surveyed plan include examination at $1,231.00, deposit at $189.00, $112.00 for each title and a Survey Act levy of $188.00, plus a document fee. Which fees apply varies by application, so don’t add them up into a total. The land division survey page covers the survey step.
Land Services SA strongly recommends a professional licensed surveyor and a conveyancer or solicitor for a division, and says the division of land can take many months, sometimes even years. If an easement needs to be varied or released, that adds another party, and the conveyancer or solicitor advises on how.
Where a survey helps and who can do what
A title search tells you an easement exists. A survey shows where it sits on the ground.
In South Australia, only licensed surveyors can undertake a boundary survey or place a survey mark that defines a property boundary. The Surveyors Board SA states that boundary surveys must be conducted or supervised by a practising Licensed Surveyor by law, and that surveys conducted by unlicensed practitioners do not have any legal standing. An easement is measured from the boundaries on the registered plan, so finding it on the ground starts with a properly established boundary.
That leads to a few practical points.
- A boundary survey or identification survey establishes the reference. If the question is “is the shed over the strip”, the surveyor works from the boundaries first. Surveyor-General guidance is that pegs placed on an identification survey simply represent the surveyor’s opinion as to the position of the boundary, and identification surveys are publicly recorded by lodging a Plan for Information Purposes. Read the boundary surveys page, and the guide to an identification survey before buying if you are mid-purchase.
- A feature and level survey records what is there. It is the usual way to capture existing structures, levels and offsets to the boundary for a site plan. Ask the surveyor whether the drawing will show the easement position from the registered plan, because that is worth having on the same sheet as your proposed building.
- The survey doesn’t decide the legal question. A surveyor can tell you where the strip sits relative to your structures. Whether you may build on it is for the holder, the council and, where the wording is unclear, a conveyancer or solicitor.
You can check any surveyor’s licence yourself. There’s no searchable online register. Contact the Registrar at registrar@isasa.org.au or (08) 8212 0343, or read the Gazette list of Licensed and Registered Surveyors in South Australia, which is updated each July and January.
Never move or remove a survey mark yourself. By law you can’t move or remove a survey mark made by a licensed surveyor, and permanent survey marks carry fines of up to $2,000 each if disturbed without approval of the Surveyor-General.
For a first budget check, national guides are the only published numbers. Trade Heroes (updated 6 March 2026, GST not stated) lists a national boundary survey range of $900 to $2,500. No South Australian firm we checked publishes a price for these survey types, so an Adelaide surveyor quotes your block after seeing the title and the ground.
How to get a written quote for an easement job
The most useful thing you can bring is the reason for the survey. “I want to know if my shed is over the easement” and “my designer needs levels and offsets to a drainage easement” lead to different surveys.
Gather these four things before you ask:
- Your certificate of title, or the title reference from your contract.
- The registered plan showing the easement, if you have it.
- What is planned or already built: a shed, extension, carport, driveway or retaining wall.
- Your timing: settlement date, design deadline or council submission.
Then tell us what the survey is for. We put you in touch with an independent Licensed Surveyor, who quotes and contracts with you directly. Use the form first, or call (08) 5550 3814. We don’t promise turnaround times or that a boundary sits where you expect it to, and we don’t survey, peg or lodge anything ourselves.
Further reading: the Surveyors Board SA public information page explains what only a Licensed Surveyor can do, and Land Services SA sets out the plan lodgement steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build over an easement in South Australia?
It depends on the wording of the easement, who holds it and what the council requires for your site. Some holders refuse anything over the strip and others set conditions. Ask the holder and the council early, and get a conveyancer or solicitor to read the title if the wording is unclear.
Does an easement mean someone else owns part of my block?
No. You still own the land under an easement. Someone else holds a right to use or access the strip for a stated purpose, such as drainage, a service pipe or a shared driveway. That right stays with the land when it is sold.
Do I need a survey to find out where an easement is?
The title tells you an easement exists, but the position on the ground depends on the boundaries drawn on the registered plan. Only a Licensed Surveyor can establish a property boundary in South Australia. If a structure sits near the strip, a survey is the reliable way to see the offsets.
Does an easement stop me subdividing?
Not on its own, but it shapes the plan. Land division plans generally must show all existing registered easements, and the layout has to work around them. Whether a division is allowed depends on the zone, overlays and the council’s assessment. The surveyor, council and your conveyancer or solicitor advise on your block.