Qualified or Limited Titles - What does this mean for your property purchase?

When taking a peek at a Certificate of Title you may see a notation referring to qualified or limited title. These notations are placed upon titles that have been converted from Old System Title, to Torrens Title. Torrens Title is the system used for recording property ownership in New South Wales.

What is a Qualified Title?

The biggest difference between Old System Title and Torrens Title is that with Torrens Title, a registered interest is absolute. With Old System titles, ownership needs to be established through a chain of titles.

A chain relies on various Deeds, each document being used to verify the others. Someone else could claim ownership of (or have some other interest in) the property. A competing claim still needs a separate chain of title to be established, which would need to displace the current chain.

Most Old System Titles has been converted to Torrens Title.

To quickly convert from Old System Title to Torrens Title, a warning is placed on any new Certificates of Title that have been converted from the Old System. This tells the purchaser there may be some subsisting interest existing under the Old System Title. Once removed, the qualified title is converted into a full Torrens Title.

What is a Limited Title?

This particular notation is recorded on a Title when the land shown in the corresponding Deposited Plan has not been investigated by the NSW Registrar General.

Deposited Plans define the boundaries of a property (like a new land release), and also show the position of instruments that affect the property, such as an easement or right of way. If not accurately reflected, these need to be verified or redefined.

To allow title to be converted quickly, the Registrar General may issue a limited Deposited Plan. The limited plan is created for the sole purpose of converting the title from Old System Title to Torrens Title, and shouldn’t be relied upon for another purpose.

The limitation can be removed by the lodgement of a plan of survey, which satisfactorily defines the land’s boundaries. There may be slight variations from the original plan, but such variations are usually minor.

If a property you purchase is a qualified or limited title, our role as your conveyancer is to help facilitate this conversion as part of your purchase process.

If you have any questions about your situation, contact me via leah@stevensconveyancing.com.au or call 0414 894 031 to discuss.

Please note that the information contained in this article is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. Stevens Conveyancing does not take responsibility for any errors or omissions obtained from the use of this information.