What is the difference between an easement and a licence?

An easement is a proprietary right in another's land — such as a right of way — that attaches to the land itself, runs with it, and binds future owners; it is typically noted on title. A licence is only personal permission to use land; it does not create an interest in the land and generally ends when the land is sold or the permission is revoked. That is why the same physical activity can bind a buyer if it is an easement but not if it is merely a licence.

Does a restrictive covenant bind a buyer who never agreed to it?

Yes. The burden of a genuine restrictive (negative) covenant — for example 'residential use only' or a building-line limit — binds later owners of registered land, whether or not they personally agreed to it, but only if it is notified on the burdened land's folio (Land Titles Act s 139(2)). It stops binding them 20 years after notification unless extended (s 141(1)). Positive covenants (promises to do something, like maintain a fence) generally do not bind successors in the same way. A buyer should therefore have any covenants noted on title reviewed by a lawyer before committing.

What should a salesperson check about encumbrances before a client buys?

Order and read the title search and title plan to identify noted easements, restrictive covenants, mortgages, charges and caveats, and check whether any restriction conflicts with the buyer's intended use. Where boundaries are in doubt, recommend a survey to detect encroachment. Refer the legal effect of any encumbrance to the buyer's conveyancing lawyer — a salesperson should flag issues, not advise on the law.

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Paper 1 · Basic Land Law: Estates & Registration of Title · 13 min read

Easements, Restrictive Covenants & Encumbrances in Singapore

Practise this section (37 questions) → · 1.7 Rights in another’s land, in sets of about 30

Must-know for the exam

An easement needs a dominant and a servient tenement in different ownership, must accommodate the dominant land and be capable of grant (Re Ellenborough Park); a view is not one.
On registered land an easement arises only by registered grant, statute (LTA ss 98–99, State Lands Act s 10) or court order (s 97A), never by long use (s 97(1)).
An easement ends by release, union of both tenements (s 100), abandonment with over 12 years' non-use as evidence (s 106), or court order (s 105A).
A restrictive covenant binds later owners of registered land only if notified on the folio (LTA s 139(2)); only negative obligations are notified.
A notified restriction stops binding later owners 20 years after notification unless extended by 10 years at a time (LTA s 141).
A restriction ends on release (LTA s 140(1)), common ownership of both lots at common law, or by court order if it impedes approved development or causes no material injury (s 140(5)).
The burden of a positive covenant, such as a promise to maintain a fence, generally does not run with freehold land to bind successors.
A licence is only personal permission, is not an interest in land and binds no buyer; notice of an unregistered right does not bind a buyer either (LTA ss 46, 47).
Every parcel carries an implied easement of subjacent support (State Lands Act s 10), and in Singapore support extends to buildings without proof of fault (Xpress Print).
Encroachment is a structure crossing the boundary; a pre-purchase survey against the title plan is the guard, and legal effect goes to a conveyancing lawyer.

On this page · 8 sections

Land is rarely a neat, self-contained parcel. Your neighbour may have a right to walk across your driveway; your title may forbid running a shop from the house; a drainpipe may serve the plot next door. These are rights in another's land — the subject of CEA syllabus 1.7 — and they matter because they can bind whoever buys the land next. For a salesperson, the practical question is always the same: which of these rights run with the land (so your buyer inherits the benefit or the burden), and which are merely personal arrangements that vanish on sale?

Encumbrances: the umbrella term

An encumbrance is any right or interest in land held by someone other than the owner that limits the owner's use or reduces the value of the title. Under Singapore's Torrens system of title registration, many encumbrances are noted on the title (the land register is the authoritative record). Common encumbrances include mortgages/charges, easements, restrictive covenants, caveats and statutory interests. The key practical point: encumbrances generally stay attached to the land, so a buyer takes the property subject to them unless they are discharged.

Easements: a right over a neighbour's land

An easement is a proprietary right for one piece of land to use, or restrict use of, another piece of land. It always involves two parcels:

Dominant tenement — the land that benefits from the easement (e.g. the plot that enjoys the right of way).
Servient tenement — the land that bears the burden (the plot the path crosses).
A true easement requires two separate parcels in different ownership benefiting/burdening each other — you cannot have an easement over your own land.
The classic test (Re Ellenborough Park, 1956) adds two more: the right must accommodate the dominant land (benefit the land, not just its current owner), and it must be capable of being granted: definite enough to put in a deed. A right to a view fails that test, so there is no easement of a view.

Typical examples: a right of way (to cross a neighbour's land), a right of drainage (to run water or a pipe through it), a right of support (a wall or building relying on the adjoining structure), and a right to eaves and gutters to overhang. The defining feature is that the right attaches to the land itself, not to a particular person — so it passes automatically to future owners of the dominant tenement.

Route	How it works on registered land	Source (Land Titles Act 1993 unless stated)
Express grant or reservation	An instrument of grant, or words in a transfer or lease, registered on the servient land's folio	s 97(1), (2), (5)
Statutory implied easements	Utilities within a development, rights of way, drainage and services shown in an approved subdivision plan, and subjacent support between all parcels. These bind without registration	ss 98, 99; State Lands Act 1920 s 10; s 46(1)(d)
Court order	On an interested person's application, where the easement is reasonably necessary for the effective use or development of the benefited land, suits the public interest, the burdened owner can be adequately compensated, and all reasonable attempts to agree were made first. It binds only once registered	s 97A
Long use, prescription, lost grant, necessity or other implication	Not available. No easement over registered land arises this way	s 97(1)
Ended by release, union or abandonment	Registered release; one person becoming owner of both tenements; or the Registrar cancelling an abandoned easement, with non-use over 12 years as evidence	ss 100, 105, 106
Ended or varied by court order	On the servient owner's application, where the easement impedes development without practical benefit, or the change will not substantially injure the persons entitled to the easement, with compensation under one of two heads, not both	s 105A

How easements are created and ended on registered land (current at 1 Oct 2026).

Because a registered easement is noted on the title, it appears on and affects the title of both parcels — the servient owner's title shows the burden, the dominant owner's the benefit.

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What does Re Ellenborough Park require for a valid easement?Show answer
A dominant and servient tenement in different ownership, a right that accommodates the dominant land, and one capable of being granted. A right to a view fails, so there is no easement of a view.
Can years of open use create an easement over registered land?Show answer
No. Under LTA s 97(1) no easement arises by long use, prescription, lost grant or necessity. It needs a registered grant, a statutory implied easement, or a court order under s 97A.
When does a restrictive covenant bind later owners of registered land, and for how long?Show answer
Only if notified on the folio of the burdened land (s 139(2)). It stops binding later owners 20 years after notification unless extended; each extension adds 10 years (s 141). The burden of a positive covenant usually does not run.
A neighbour verbally lets the owner cross his land. Does a buyer of the neighbour's plot have to honour it?Show answer
No. Informal permission is a licence: personal, generally revocable and not an interest in land, so it ends on sale. A properly granted easement noted on title would bind the buyer.
In Singapore, does the natural right of support cover buildings?Show answer
Yes. Under Xpress Print v Monocrafts it covers buildings from the time they are built, and a neighbour who excavates and withdraws support is liable without proof of fault. In England a building gains support only by grant or 20 years' prescription.

Common questions

What is the difference between an easement and a licence?: An easement is a proprietary right in another's land — such as a right of way — that attaches to the land itself, runs with it, and binds future owners; it is typically noted on title. A licence is only personal permission to use land; it does not create an interest in the land and generally ends when the land is sold or the permission is revoked. That is why the same physical activity can bind a buyer if it is an easement but not if it is merely a licence.
Does a restrictive covenant bind a buyer who never agreed to it?: Yes. The burden of a genuine restrictive (negative) covenant — for example 'residential use only' or a building-line limit — binds later owners of registered land, whether or not they personally agreed to it, but only if it is notified on the burdened land's folio (Land Titles Act s 139(2)). It stops binding them 20 years after notification unless extended (s 141(1)). Positive covenants (promises to do something, like maintain a fence) generally do not bind successors in the same way. A buyer should therefore have any covenants noted on title reviewed by a lawyer before committing.
What should a salesperson check about encumbrances before a client buys?: Order and read the title search and title plan to identify noted easements, restrictive covenants, mortgages, charges and caveats, and check whether any restriction conflicts with the buyer's intended use. Where boundaries are in doubt, recommend a survey to detect encroachment. Refer the legal effect of any encumbrance to the buyer's conveyancing lawyer — a salesperson should flag issues, not advise on the law.

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