These Guidelines apply to plans that identify the area of land included in a lease that will be lodged for registration with NSW LRS.

A lease is a written agreement entered into by an owner of land (the lessor) granting another person (the lessee) exclusive use of the land for a period of time (the term) in return for the payment of rent. Information on how to prepare a lease for registration can be found in the Registrar General’s Guidelines for land dealings.

The lease may be for the whole of the land or premises or for part of the land or premises. Where it is for a part, a plan may be required.

For the purposes of these Guidelines, the requirements have been divided into two broad categories;

• lease of premises – being a lease of the whole (or part) of a building or other structure on the land; and 
• lease of part of land - being a lease of part of a current parcel (including all structures contained thereon).

The Guidelines also include specific information about special purpose leases, being:

• leases for caravan parks and mobile home estates
• leases for airport sites, including a lease of airport terminals, hangers facilities etc
• lease of additional common property or association land, where a strata or community scheme wants to add to existing common or association property
• leases for telecommunication sites, including telecommunication equipment, antennae etc.
• agricultural leases for the production, growing, harvesting and farming of produce
• lease of a road by a roads authority, where a road authority leases the airspace above or the subsoil below a public road, or land comprising public road
• leases affecting Crown land
• Lord Howe Island leases
• Kosciuszko National Park leases

Easements created in a lease

Section 47(2) & (3) Real Property Act 1900 allows an easement to be created by lease in two scenarios, where:

• the lessor grants an easement benefitting the leased land over other land owned by the lessor, or

• the lessor reserves an easement over the leased land to benefit other land owned by the lessor.

Unless the easement affects the whole of a parcel or the whole of the leased land the site of the easement must be defined in a plan annexed to the lease or a deposited plan of survey. The usual requirements for a compiled easement plan will apply (for more information see compiled easement plans). If the compiled easement plan guidelines cannot be met, then a plan of survey will be required.

The easement will cease to exist once the lease is terminated.

Publish date: October 2023