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 — can run with the land and bind later owners, whether or not they personally agreed to it. 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 · Land Law

Easements, Restrictive Covenants & Encumbrances in Singapore

Must-know for the exam

An encumbrance is any right or interest in land held by someone other than the owner that limits use or reduces the value of the title.
Under the Torrens system, encumbrances noted on the land register generally stay attached to the land, so a buyer takes the property subject to them unless discharged.
An easement is a proprietary right for one parcel to use another, needing a dominant tenement (benefited) and a servient tenement (burdened) in different ownership.
Easements arise by express grant, implication or prescription, and end by express release, unity of ownership of both parcels, or abandonment.
The burden of a restrictive (negative) covenant can run with the land and bind later owners, whether or not they personally agreed to it.
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 to use land, is not an interest in land, is generally revocable and does not bind a buyer.

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

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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 — can run with the land and bind later owners, whether or not they personally agreed to it. 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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Study material aligned to the public CEA syllabus. Not financial or legal advice — verify current figures with the relevant authority (IRAS, HDB, CEA, MAS).