Inner-Melbourne suburbs like Carlton, Fitzroy, Richmond, Brunswick and North Melbourne are full of properties accessed via shared driveways — narrow strips of land that serve two, three, or sometimes six lots from a single street frontage. These shared driveways are typically protected by a registered easement called a “right of carriageway”. They’re entirely workable, but they generate more neighbour disputes per square metre than any other property feature, and many buyers don’t fully understand the rights and obligations until something goes wrong.
This guide covers how shared driveway easements work in Victoria, who pays for what, what you can and can’t do, and the contract-level checks that prevent the worst disputes.
What is a right of carriageway?
A right of carriageway (sometimes “right of way” or ROW) is an easement granting one or more landowners (the “dominant tenement”) the right to pass over land owned by someone else (the “servient tenement”). In Victoria, rights of carriageway are usually registered under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) and appear on the title of the servient land — the land burdened with the easement.
For shared driveways serving multiple properties, the easement can be configured several ways. Common patterns:
- Mutual easements. Each lot grants every other lot a right of carriageway over the shared strip. The driveway physically sits across multiple lots, with each lot encumbered.
- Single servient lot. One lot (often the front lot) owns the entire driveway, and the rear lots have rights of carriageway over that lot.
- Common property driveway (strata).In strata-titled subdivisions, the driveway is common property managed by the OC. This isn’t strictly a right of carriageway — it’s common property under the Owners Corporations Act 2006.
Maintenance — who pays?
Maintenance is the most common source of disputes. The default position depends on how the easement was created:
| Configuration | Default cost allocation | Override mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| Mutual easements (shared) | All users contribute proportionally | Easement deed terms |
| Single servient lot | Servient owner pays | Easement deed terms |
| Common property (strata) | OC fund (all owners) | OC rules |
| No registered easement (prescriptive) | Unclear — case by case | Court order |
| Registered with maintenance covenant | As specified in covenant | Variation by deed |
The default rule for mutual easements is proportional contribution based on use, but in practice this rarely works smoothly. Owners who rarely use the driveway resist contributing to repair costs. Owners with heavier vehicles (4WDs, vans, trucks) cause more wear but argue the same proportion as light-vehicle users. Disputes are common — especially for major works like full resurfacing, which can cost $15,000–$50,000+ for a typical inner-suburban shared driveway.
What can you do on the easement?
The dominant tenement (the lot benefiting from the easement) has the right to pass over the driveway with vehicles. This is the “substantial use” the easement is granted for. But:
- You cannot park on the easement (it must remain usable for passage)
- You cannot build, plant, or store anything on the easement
- You cannot widen the driveway beyond the easement boundaries without servient consent
- You cannot block the easement with gates or barriers that prevent access by other dominant owners
The servient tenement (the lot burdened with the easement) cannot:
- Block, fence, or gate the easement to exclude dominant users
- Build over the easement (any structure overhanging is a breach)
- Resurface in a way that prevents normal vehicle use
- Charge a usage fee unless explicitly permitted by the easement
The blocking dispute — the most common ROW conflict
A typical scenario: the front-lot owner installs a gate at the street end of the driveway with their own electronic opener. The rear-lot owners now need to either get a remote, share the front owner’s opener, or walk to the front to enter. This creates immediate dispute.
Legal position in Victoria: the servient owner can install gates only if (a) the easement deed explicitly permits, or (b) all dominant owners consent. Without consent, gates are an unlawful interference with the easement. Dominant owners can apply to VCAT or the Supreme Court for removal orders.
Widening, paving, and major works
Major works on the driveway require unanimous consent of all owners whose lots are affected — both dominant and servient. This means:
- Resurfacing the driveway (concrete to bitumen, or vice versa) needs consent
- Adding a turning bay needs consent of any servient owner whose land is affected
- Installing speed bumps, drainage upgrades, or boundary fencing needs consent
- Splitting a single shared driveway into separate driveways requires all owners’ consent
Section 32 and contract checks
- Identify the easement on the title search.Look for phrases like “Right of carriageway” or “Easement for vehicular access.” Note the registered instrument number.
- Get the easement deed. Ask the vendor or your conveyancer to obtain the registered instrument from Land Use Victoria. Read its full terms — many older deeds are short and ambiguous.
- Check the plan of subdivision. Confirm the easement location physically matches the existing driveway. Misalignments are surprisingly common.
- Speak to neighbours. Ask about driveway maintenance history, recent disputes, gate arrangements, and use patterns. Pre-existing disputes signal future problems.
- Get a survey if anything looks off. If the driveway location seems different from the easement diagram, a registered land surveyor can confirm. Cost: $1,500–$3,000.
Special conditions to negotiate
- Vendor warranties about pending or unresolved easement disputes
- Vendor disclosure of all driveway-maintenance contributions made in the last 5 years
- Confirmation of any verbal agreements between current owners about gates, parking, or use
- Vendor undertaking that no works have been done on the easement in the last 12 months that might require permits or approvals
Prescriptive easements — the unregistered version
Some shared driveways operate without a registered easement, on the basis of long use. Under section 27 of the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), 20+ years of continuous use can give rise to a prescriptive easement — but enforcement requires a Supreme Court application, costing $10,000–$50,000 in legal fees.
If the property you’re buying relies on a prescriptive easement rather than a registered one, treat this as a major risk. A future servient owner could block the driveway and force you into litigation to establish the easement.
Ready to check your contract? Upload your Section 32 or Contract of Sale at precontractreview.com for a pre-contract check — typically in just a few minutes.