From 11 October 2021, the Torrens Register will be the sole authority as to a person’s interest or estate in land as the Certificate of Title framework will be phased out. The changes outlined in the Real Property Amendment (Certificates of Title) Act 2021 clarify the step away from the paper-based system of registration to one dealt completely through electronic lodging and eConveyancing. For landowners, whether they are in the process of paying or subdividing, or have already paid off their mortgage, paper Certificates will no longer be issued or carry any legal significance for properties or new parcels of land. The only exception to this will be for transactions extending before and beyond the cessation date, which will require Certificates as evidence for procedural matters and rules occurring before the date wherever they may be required. Instead, Information Notices will be issued through their bank and passed onto the landowner in place of electronic Certificates (CoRDs). Lawyers and licensed conveyancers will no longer require Certificates or their Certificate Authentication Codes from their clients when processing a sale or lodging or dealing registration and will need to look elsewhere for evidence as to their client’s right to deal with land; these new sources have been clarified in the updated NSW Participation Rules. Existing client Certificates kept by legal representatives or conveyancers can either, with client consent, be kept or destroyed as they carry no legal significance and can be dealt according to individual discretion.
Contact Morgan + English for further information.
