Article 2.2.7 Easements and Covenants

(a) Recognition and Registration:

(i) Easements and covenants affecting land within the ICT shall be registered in the ICT Land Registry to have legal effect against third parties.

(ii) Unregistered easements or covenants may bind the parties who created them but shall not affect subsequent purchasers or mortgagees without actual notice.

(b) Types of Easements and Covenants:

(i) Recognised easements may include rights of way, access, support, light, air, drainage, services, and other rights reasonably necessary for the enjoyment of real property.

(ii) Covenants may include both positive and negative obligations relating to land use, architectural design, landscaping, environmental stewardship, noise control, maintenance duties, or other obligations.

(iii) Easements and covenants may be appurtenant to a dominant tenement or held in gross by a body corporate, governmental entity, or public utility.

(iv) The Operator may designate new classes of community-use rights or ecosystem services capable of being recorded as enforceable covenants.

(c) Creation and Effect:

(i) Easements and covenants shall be created by an instrument in a form acceptable by the Land Registrar and executed in accordance with this ICT Code.

(ii) The ICT Court may, upon petition, create an easement or covenant due to necessity, prescription, or as the interest of equity otherwise so requires.

(iii) Upon registration, an easement or covenant shall bind the burdened land and benefit the benefited party or land and shall be enforceable according to its recorded terms.

(iv) The ICT Land Registry shall specify the benefited and burdened land (if applicable), the nature and terms of the right, and any conditions, limitations, or expiry periods.

(v) Easements and covenants shall run with the land and bind successors in title unless expressly limited or terminated.

(vi) To maintain legal certainty, any ambiguous easement or covenant terms shall be construed narrowly, with a presumption against undue restriction on land use unless clearly stated.

(d) Variation, Merger, and Extinguishment:

1. A registered easement or covenant may be varied or extinguished by:
2. Instrument of variation or release executed by the benefited and burdened parties;
3. Court order;
4. Operator extinguishment under infrastructure, planning, or public interest provisions; or
5. Operation of law in accordance with this ICT Code or an ICT Court process (e.g., merger of benefited and burdened titles).
6. Variation or extinguishment shall be lodged with and recorded in the ICT Land Registry to have legal effect against third parties.
7. The ICT Court may modify or discharge an easement or covenant where continued enforcement is unreasonable, contrary to public interest, or inconsistent with development plans approved by the Operator.

8. The Land Registrar may issue supplementary regulations governing standard forms and procedures relating to easements and covenants.

   (ix) Regulatory mechanisms may include mandatory expiry terms, review triggers, or periodic renewal obligations for high-impact covenants.

   (x) Where easements or covenants are recorded in digital form with smart triggers or programmable expiry conditions, the Operator may automate revocation or renewal through the Land Registry platform subject to system safeguards.

   (e) Operator-Held Easements:

   (i) The Operator may create, register, and enforce easements in gross for ICT public purposes, including but not limited to utilities, pedestrian access, public transport corridors, open space, drainage, and ecosystem conservation.

   (ii) Such easements may be imposed on private land without a dominant tenement where necessary to serve a legitimate public function, provided that:

   (iii) Due process is followed, including notice to the affected registered proprietor;

   (iv) Affected persons are afforded an opportunity to be heard or raise objections through a procedure prescribed by regulation; and

   (v) Where the imposition materially affects private use or value, reasonable compensation is available in accordance with applicable expropriation or regulatory compensation principles under this ICT Code.

   (vi) Operator-held easements shall be clearly described in the ICT Land Registry, including their scope, purpose, spatial extent, and any access or use conditions.

   (vii) These public easements may be modified, realigned, or extinguished by the Operator through a registered instrument to reflect updated urban plans, infrastructure upgrades, or evolving public needs.

   (viii) Where appropriate, the Operator may designate certain public easements as revocable, temporary, or conditional to promote adaptive infrastructure and responsive land use.

   (ix) Easements created under this provision shall be enforceable by the Operator, any delegated authority, or such public utility or infrastructure agency as may be authorised under regulation.

   (x) The Operator or Land Registrar may issue supplementary regulations or guidelines governing standard forms, notice procedures, rights of objection, compensation mechanisms, and dispute resolution processes for public easements.

   (f) Infrastructure Easements and Titles in Favour of Operator:

9. Titles or easements registered in the name of the Operator for public infrastructure, utilities, or shared service purposes shall not be alienated, encumbered, or extinguished except by:
10. Specific supplemental regulation issued by the Operator; or
11. Order of the ICT Court on application by the Operator.
12. These titles or interests shall be presumptively protected from:
13. Caveats;
14. Adverse possession claims; or
15. Competing uses, unless expressly permitted by the Operator or ICT Court.