Right of way Explained for Property Buyers
A right of way is a registered right for one property's owners and visitors to pass over part of another property, usually a shared driveway or access strip. It tells you who can come and go across that land, and it stays in place when the property is sold.
What Does Right of way Mean?
A right of way is permission, recorded on title, for people to travel across a strip of land they don't own. In NSW contracts and title documents it often appears as a "right of carriageway", which covers passing through on foot or in a vehicle. One property gets the benefit of the access, and the other property carries the burden of allowing it.
Buyers usually come across it in three places: a rear block reached by a long driveway beside the front house, a pair of homes sharing one concrete driveway, or a front property with a strip down the side that the neighbours behind are entitled to use. The right is normally shown on the deposited plan and set out in a registered instrument, which your conveyancer will find when they review the title and contract.
The practical question isn't whether a right of way exists but how it will feel to live with. Sharing access means sharing wear and tear, parking habits, bin nights and delivery trucks. For the lot relying on the access, the right of way is what makes the property reachable at all. For the lot carrying it, it means part of your land will never be entirely private.
Why This Matters for Buyers
The first thing to establish is which side of the arrangement you would be on. Buying the rear lot, you depend on the right of way for every trip in and out, so you want the access to be registered, wide enough for how you live, and not open to argument. Buying the front lot, you're accepting that neighbours will regularly drive past your windows and across land you pay rates on.
Maintenance and cost sharing is where most friction starts. The instrument may say who repairs the driveway surface, the drainage beside it and any gates, or it may say very little. If it's vague, resurfacing a cracked shared driveway can become a negotiation with a neighbour you've only just met. It's worth knowing the condition of the driveway, and whether there's any history of disagreement, before you exchange.
Width and use also affect future plans. A strip that works for a small car may not suit a trailer, a boat, a removalist truck or the machinery needed to build a granny flat or extension. If you're thinking about renovating or adding a secondary dwelling, check whether construction access over the right of way is practical and permitted.
Finally, a right of way affects resale. Some buyers are comfortable with shared access and others will rule it out on principle. That can narrow your future buyer pool, which is a reasonable factor to weigh against price when you compare the property with similar homes nearby.
Common Mistakes Buyers Make
Shared access usually looks harmless at an inspection, especially when no one else is using it. These are the errors that tend to cause problems later:
- Relying on a handshake arrangement — Some older properties use a neighbour's driveway or lane by habit rather than by registered right. An informal arrangement may not bind a future owner of the neighbouring land, so the access you're counting on could be withdrawn.
- Not asking who pays for upkeep — Buyers often assume costs are split evenly. The actual obligation depends on the wording of the instrument, and sometimes it's silent, which leaves the question open between neighbours.
- Inspecting at a quiet time — Seeing the driveway empty on a Saturday morning tells you little. Visiting on a weekday evening shows parked cars, bin placement and how often the access is actually used.
- Assuming you can gate, fence or park on it — If your land carries the right of way, blocking it, even briefly, may breach the other owner's rights. Plans for a front gate, carport or garden bed along the strip need checking first.
- Overlooking construction access — Buyers planning a build at the rear often discover too late that trucks, concrete pumps or excavators can't fit down the shared strip, adding cost and complexity to the project.
How This Shows Up in the Illawarra
Rights of way are common across the Illawarra's older residential areas, where large blocks were split over time and the rear lots were given access down the side of the original house. In established pockets of Wollongong's western suburbs, such as Figtree, Mount Ousley and parts of Mount Keira, buyers regularly look at homes that either use or carry a long shared driveway. The same pattern appears around Warilla, Barrack Heights and older parts of Shellharbour.
Topography adds a layer that isn't always obvious from listing photos. Along the escarpment side of the northern suburbs, shared driveways can be steep, narrow and hard to widen, and stormwater running down a shared concrete strip can become a maintenance issue in heavy rain. For buyers, that means checking not only the legal right but also the physical condition and gradient of the access, particularly if you plan to add a garage, a second dwelling or larger vehicles.
In the villa and townhouse segment across Dapto, Albion Park and Kiama's surrounds, shared access is sometimes handled through common property in a strata or community scheme rather than a right of way over a neighbour's lot. The day-to-day experience can look similar, but the rules sit in different documents. If you're comparing a Torrens title home on a shared driveway with a small strata complex, it helps to understand which framework applies before comparing prices. Our buyer team can help you read these differences suburb by suburb.
Practical Takeaway
A right of way isn't a reason to avoid a property, but it does change what you're buying. You're not only buying a house and land; you're also buying an ongoing relationship with whoever shares the access, and a set of rules about how that strip can be used, maintained and changed.
Before exchange, confirm the right of way is registered, get your conveyancer or solicitor to explain what the instrument allows and who is responsible for repairs, and look at the access in person at a busy time of day. If you have plans for renovation, a granny flat or subdivision, check the width and gradient against what those plans will need.
In plain terms: when you see a shared driveway or an access strip, find out whose land it is, who is allowed to use it, who pays to keep it working, and whether it fits the way you want to live and build. Then weigh any limits against the price, just as you would any other trade-off in the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a right of way on a property?
It's a registered right for the owners and visitors of one property to pass across part of another property, most often a driveway or access strip. In NSW paperwork it is frequently called a right of carriageway.
When would I find out a property has a right of way?
It usually shows up in the title search and deposited plan attached to the contract of sale. Your conveyancer should point it out, but you can often spot the likelihood earlier by looking at shared driveways or rear lots during an inspection.
Is buying a property with a right of way risky?
Not inherently. The risk depends on the terms, the physical condition of the access, how busy it is and whether your plans for the property fit within it. Informal or unregistered access carries more uncertainty than a registered right.
Can a right of way be negotiated or removed?
Changing or removing a registered right generally needs the agreement of the parties involved and formal legal steps, so it isn't something to assume you can fix after purchase. The purchase price, however, is negotiable, and shared access is a fair point to factor into your offer.
Should first home buyers care about rights of way?
Yes. Townhouses, villas and rear blocks are common entry points to the market, and many rely on shared access. Understanding who maintains the driveway and how it's used helps you avoid unexpected costs and neighbour disputes in your first home.
Does a right of way affect the timing of a purchase?
It can. If the terms are unclear or you want clarification from the neighbour or a surveyor, allow time for that before exchange. Once contracts are unconditional, your ability to walk away over access concerns is limited.
How does a right of way fit into the NSW buying process?
It forms part of the title information the seller must disclose with the contract. Your conveyancer or solicitor reviews it during due diligence, ideally before exchange or within any cooling-off period that applies to your purchase.
Can a buyers agent help with a property that has a right of way?
A buyers agent can flag shared access early, assess how it affects liveability and resale in that street, and factor it into price negotiations. The legal interpretation of the instrument still sits with your conveyancer or solicitor.
If a property you like shares a driveway or relies on access over a neighbour's land, we can help you work out what that means before you commit. Get in touch and we'll walk through it with you.
