A sewerage connection plan issued by a council showing a house wholly within certain lots can constitute a representation as to property boundaries sufficient to found an estoppel by representation. Where such estoppel is established, the representor is held to the representation and may be precluded from asserting ownership inconsistent with it, which can entirely defeat an application for relief under the Encroachment of Buildings Act 1922 (NSW). The detriment in such cases is the purchase of land under an erroneous belief induced by the representation, and moving the house at the representor's expense does not overcome that detriment. A council is not in a special position for estoppel purposes merely because it is a council or because the land is classified as community land.
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