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Hi Jason, First you will need to find out whether the drain you are referring to at the back of the house is part of a separate "drainage reserve" or whether the drain is just a "common" drain shared the row of houses. You can do so by purchasing the Drainage Interpretation Plan. If there is no drainage reserve at the rear, than it is most definitely just a simple common drain that actually is part of the property (either yours or the rear neighbor) already. Next you need to find out whether the drain belongs to your boundary or the rear neighbor. Firstly you can do a visual inspection to see whether any neighbors (preferably newer developments) have already "claimed" back that portion of the drain. If the drain has been claimed by the neighbors on your side, almost certainly the land which the drain is at belongs to you. If the opposite neighbors have extended over the drain, than the drain likely was constructed within the rear neighbour's lands. If you see the drain on "your side", to have a 100% confirmation, you can engage a registered surveyor to determine exactly up to where your land boundary is until. You can extend your rear yard and house over the drain and to the edge of the boundary (while respecting the mandatory 2m rear set backs for the main building etc). Depending on what type of extension/works, you may need to engage a QP (architect or professional engineer) to do the required submissions etc. If you are simply thinking of just constructing a slab over the drain to extend the yard, then normal contractors should be able to do it.