What is an 88B instrument, and does your NSW lot have one?

It's named after section 88B of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW). When land is subdivided, the developer lodges the 88B with the plan, and it binds every future owner of the lots it affects. It can create:

• Easements: rights for others to use part of a lot, such as to drain water, run services or share a driveway (a right of carriageway).
• Restrictions on the use of land, also called restrictive covenants: for example one dwelling per lot, a minimum floor area, building materials, fencing rules or no further subdivision.
• Positive covenants: obligations to do something, such as maintain an on-site stormwater detention system, usually in favour of the council.

NSW titles list these interests in the Second Schedule, quoting the plan number. An entry might read something like “DP1234567 RESTRICTION(S) ON THE USE OF LAND” or describe an easement and its width. The title tells you the interest exists; the 88B sets out its terms, and the plan shows where it sits.

Not every NSW lot has an 88B. Restrictions and positive covenants can also be added later, for example as a council condition when a development is approved. Those appear on the title with their own dealing number and are ordered as a dealing.

88B instruments are a NSW document. Other states create the same kinds of rights in other ways, such as on Victoria's plan of subdivision or in a separate easement or covenant document.

• Granny flats, duplexes and knockdown-rebuilds: a one-dwelling restriction or a building envelope can rule out what you're planning, whatever the planning rules allow.
• Complying development (CDC): certifiers often ask for the 88B before they'll approve, so have it ready.
• Easements: you generally can't build over a drainage or services easement without consent from whoever benefits from it.
• Buying: you take on any positive covenant, such as maintaining a stormwater tank, and every restriction.

NSW Land Registry Services doesn't sell to the public online. Order the 88B through an authorised information broker or at the NSW LRS counter, using the plan number from your title. The registry fee is A$18.70 in 2026-27, and brokers add their own fee.

Title Registry doesn't sell 88B instruments yet. At launch we sell the NSW title search (A$79), which lists every restriction, easement and covenant with its plan or dealing number, plus a one-page plain-English summary. The Title + Full Report (A$109) explains each entry beside its original text and lists questions for your conveyancer or certifier. It explains what the title says; it can't quote the 88B's terms, because the 88B is a separate document.

1. 1Find your lot number in the column of lots burdened (the lots that must put up with the easement or restriction).
2. 2Read each numbered item: what it is, its width if it's an easement, and which lots or authority benefit.
3. 3Read the terms section for the detail of each restriction, such as what can't be built.
4. 4Note who has power to release, vary or modify each item.
5. 5Match the easement labels on the 88B to the same labels on the deposited plan to see where they run.