ADGM real property law on easements and covenants goes further than many lawyers expect. Positive covenants run with the land — an English law exception becomes the ADGM rule. Service easements are implied automatically. Easements-in-gross allow utility companies and OAs to hold rights without owning land. And the 12-year non-use rule can extinguish rights you thought you had permanently.
1. Implied service easements — automatic and irrevocable
Section 84 automatically implies easements for services across all lots within a single development. The services covered are: water, electricity, telephone, drainage, gas, and sewerage. No express grant, no registration, no instrument needed. These easements arise by operation of law the moment the development exists.
| Rule | Detail | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | All lots within a single development | s.84(1) |
| Services covered | Water, electricity, telephone, drainage, gas, sewerage | s.84(1) |
| Maintenance cost | Reasonable proportion of the cost — no fixed formula | s.84(4) |
| Access notice | Reasonable prior written notice required before entry to install/maintain | s.84(3) |
| Cannot contract out | Express variation required to modify — silence = default applies | s.84 |
| Damage during exercise | Person exercising must repair damage caused | s.84(3) |
2. Subdivision-plan easements — s.85
Section 85 automatically implies easements for Service Infrastructure shown in the subdivision plan. Where a water main, drainage channel, or utility duct appears on the approved subdivision plan, a legal easement for that infrastructure exists across whatever lots it traverses — without any separate grant. Rules are identical to section 84: reasonable proportion maintenance cost, notice before access, repair liability for damage caused, indemnity obligation under section 85(7) (indemnify burdened party unless their gross negligence).
3. Express easements — grants and reservations
Parties can create express easements beyond those implied by sections 84 and 85. An express easement requires: (s.86)
- A written instrument in the approved form
- Signed by the grantor (and grantee where required)
- A plan of survey attached identifying the easement area (s.87(1)(b), s.141)
- Registration on both the grantor's and grantee's folios
- Payment of registration fees
Common express easements in ADGM: access roads, crane swing paths during construction, temporary construction easements, view easements, light easements. Any easement not automatically implied by sections 84-85 must be expressly created and registered to have effect against third parties.
4. Easements-in-gross — no dominant land needed
Section 81 creates a specific category: an easement-in-gross. The holder of an easement-in-gross does not need to own any dominant land in the development. This is designed for utility companies, telecommunications providers, and community managers who need operational rights across a development without being property owners. Section 96 provides the equivalent for covenants-in-gross — allowing an OA to hold covenant enforcement rights without unit ownership.
5. Party walls — automatic cross-easements
Section 93 automatically creates cross-easements in party walls at the boundary between adjoining lots. Each owner is entitled to support from the whole party wall — not just their half. Neither owner can demolish, excavate under, or materially weaken the party wall without engaging both section 83 (support of property) and the section 93 easement. Both owners have a mutual right of support and a mutual obligation to maintain structural integrity.
6. Court-ordered access easements
Where a landowner needs access across neighbouring land that is reasonably necessary for the use or development of their own land, and the neighbour refuses to grant an easement, section 94 allows a Court application for a compulsory easement order. Requirements the Court must be satisfied of:
- Access is reasonably necessary — not merely convenient
- The grant is in the public interest
- Compensation will be paid to the burdened owner
- All reasonable steps to negotiate voluntarily have been taken
7. Abandonment and extinguishment
Easements do not last forever in ADGM if unused. Section 91(2) creates a presumption of abandonment after 12 consecutive years of non-use. Once this threshold is met, the ADGM Courts can extinguish the easement under section 92. Section 92 also allows extinguishment where the purpose of the easement no longer exists — for example, where the development for which a service route was created has been substantially redeveloped.
Section 104 provides the parallel power for restrictive covenants: the Court can extinguish or modify a restrictive covenant where its purpose has become obsolete due to changes in the area or it provides no practical benefit of substantial value. Compensation is available. This is a useful tool for developers or OAs stuck with outdated restrictions from earlier development phases.
8. Restrictive covenants — running with land
| Aspect | Rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Registration required to bind successors | Covenant must be registered on folio (s.98) | s.98 |
| Benefit runs with land | Original covenantee and all successors can enforce | s.99 |
| Burden runs with land | All successors-in-title bound automatically | s.107 |
| Positive covenants | Also run with land — ADGM rule differs from English law | s.97, s.107 |
| Covenant-in-gross | OA or utility can hold covenant benefit without owning land | s.96 |
| Variation | Register variation instrument (s.101) | s.101 |
| Extinguishment | Court order if obsolete / no material benefit (s.104) | s.104 |
| Void if against public policy | Race/nationality/religion restrictions void (s.4(1)) | s.4(1) |
9. Variation of covenants and easements
Any variation of a registered covenant or easement requires a registered variation instrument under section 101 (covenants) or a new registered instrument for easements. The variation only binds successors-in-title from the date of registration. Parties who agree variations informally — without registration — are bound between themselves but cannot enforce the variation against third parties or future buyers.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on a specific ADGM real property matter, please contact us. Last updated: 19 May 2026.