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Certificates of Title made redundant

Catherine Da Silva

02 July 2019

What is a Certificate of Title?

A Certificate of Title (also known as a Title Deed) is an official document which evidences details of land ownership.

Traditionally, when purchasing a property you would receive a physical paper Certificate of Title of the said property as evidence of your ownership of the property.  You could not deal with the property (i.e. sell or register a mortgage against it) unless you lodged the paper Certificate of Title with the transaction in relation to the property.  As we move to a more digital world we have slowly moved away from paper Certificates of Title.  Only about 11% of titles still have a paper Certificate of Title in Queensland.

When is a paper Certificate of Title no longer valid?

On 26 March 2019,  a bill was passed in parliament amending the Land Title Act 1994.  The effect of the amendment being that from 1 October 2019, paper Certificates of Title will become an item of historic or sentimental value only and will no longer have any legal effect.  As a result they will not need to be deposited with the Titles Registry when a transaction is lodged in relation to a property.

As from 1 October 2019:

  • There will be no requirement to dispose of existing paper Certificates of Title;
  • Certificates of Title will not need to be destroyed or brought into the Titles Registry;
  • Certificates of Title will not need to be dispensed with for a transaction in relation to a property to proceed.

If you have a paper Certificate of Title and would like further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact one of our local experts to discuss the impact these legislative changes may have on you.  Please contact us on 07 4963 2000 or via our online contact form.  We will be more than happy to assist.