What an easement is

An easement is a legal agreement that gives one party the right to use another party's land for a specific purpose. They are usually permanent.

Examples of easement requests include:

• A council wants to put in drainage pipes across school grounds.
• An electricity supplier wants to put a transformer on the corner of a school.
• A council wants to put a footpath across school grounds.
• A school wants to connect to a council sewage line on someone else's land.

How to manage easement requests

We will help your school with:

• requests from someone else for an easement on school land
• easements on neighbouring land that your school needs.

You should always talk to your property advisor first about any easement requests. In most cases we will manage the process for you.

School land is usually owned by the Crown. Only Toitu te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), with our permission, can agree to the granting or acquisition of an easement.

If your school needs an easement

Your school must get consent from us for an easement first. Do not negotiate directly with a neighbour.

We will negotiate the arrangement and make sure any agreements are recorded on the appropriate land title.

If you receive an easement request from another party

We will consult with you to make sure an easement will not have a negative impact on the school.

If the land is leased by us, we will need landowner approval for the easement.

Easement costs

We will discuss costs related to easements with you before work begins.

The party who wants the easement normally pays. If your school needs the easement, your school will have to pay for the easement. You will need to budget for these costs when planning the project.

Costs may include:

• accredited supplier fees
• surveyor fees
• valuer fees
• compensation costs
• any costs incurred by the party granting the easement.

Easements over Crown-owned land must be negotiated and prepared by a LINZ-accredited supplier and agreed by LINZ. There are legal restrictions on what the Crown can agree to and a different process from easements agreed between private parties. This can mean higher costs and delivery timeframes.

Compensation for easements

An easement often reduces the value and usability of the land it is on.

The party that wants the easement will need to pay compensation to the other party for that reduction in value and usability. You will need to budget for this.

Compensation will be assessed by our LINZ-accredited supplier. The other party can get their own valuation done too.

When the loss of value is to property owned by us, the compensation is paid to us, not to the school.