Book Review: Easements and Restrictive Covenants

By Bradbrook and Neave

Published by Lexis Nexis Butterworths

Reviewed by Dominic Katter

Bradbrook and Neave’s Easements and Restrictive Covenants is the leading Australian text in this area of the law. The first edition of this pre-eminent work was published in 1981. This 2011 third edition accommodates an updated discussion of cases decided since the second edition was published in 2000.

The first and second editions of this important work were co-authored by Professor Adrian J. Bradbrook and Professor Marcia A. Neave. Professor Neave, well-known as the co-author of Sackville and Neave’s Property Law Cases and Materials, was in 2006 appointed as a Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The co-author of the text for the third edition, with Professor Bradbrook, is former Associate Professor Susan V. MacCallum of Monash University. Associate Professor MacCallum is also a co-author with Professor Bradbrook of Australian Real Property Law and Australian Property Law: Cases and Materials. Professor Bradbrook is the Bonython Professor of Law at the University of Adelaide and has a Doctor of Laws from the University of Melbourne as well as PhDs from the Universities of Melbourne and Cambridge.

The monograph is well-structured into 19 chapters, with each chapter including sub-headings and paragraph headings. The text is generously supported by appropriate footnote referencing throughout, and the work includes a table of cases, table of statutes and index. Of further assistance to the reader, the substantive text incorporates paragraph numbering as the basis for the index.

This is a practitioners’ text and is therefore a valuable addition to any firm or chambers library. Despite the important detail, the work is written in a clear and concise way, allowing it to be of benefit to all seeking detail in this area. The third edition identifies recent statutory and case law developments, with a further development of the examination of statutory enactments impacting upon the rights of the user in respect of land. Further detail is also added as to the Torrens system. This edition, unfortunately, pre-dates the enactment of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), but includes other applicable recent statutory amendments, such as the Civil Law (Property) Act 2006 (ACT).

This work has justifiably received considerable recognition since its first publication in 1981. The third edition continues the development of this now ‘mature’ resource text, further establishing it as an outstanding reference as to easements and other restrictive covenants. The publisher is LexisNexis Butterworths.¹ The hard cover retails for $229.

Footnote

1. The publisher’s web page is here.