On 11 October 2021, the Real Property Amendment (Certificates of Title) Act 2021 commenced, which abolished the Certificates of Title (CTs) and the control of the right to deal (CoRD) framework. All existing CTs have been cancelled and CTs will no longer be issued. Existing CTs will not need to be produced, and CoRD holder consent will not be required, for a dealing or plan to be registered. All existing Guidelines subject to this change are currently being reviewed and will be updated to reflect these changes. For further information regarding the abolition of CTs, please see https://www.registrargeneral.nsw.gov.au/property-and-conveyancing/eConveyancing/abolition-of-certificates-of-title

Requirements for a strata plan

See Schedules 10 - 14 of the Lodgment Rules.

All strata plans must be prepared by a land surveyor registered under the Surveying and Spatial Information Act 2002.

A strata plan can only subdivide fee simple land (including leasehold land) under the Real Property Act 1900 (ie Torrens Title). See section 9 Strata Schemes Development Act 2015.

A strata plan can subdivide one or more lots in a deposited plan, if it is more than one lot they must be contiguous. This deposited plan is known as the base plan.

NOTE:  Where a strata plan subdivides stratum lots within a building, the lots do not need to be contiguous. For more information see Part Strata Development - Preparing the Plan.

The base plan must be a reliable plan of survey which has connections to at least two existing Permanent Survey Marks or a compiled plan of consolidation based on a plan of survey that meets the requirements above. If the base plan is a survey, it does not automatically make it a reliable plan of survey, this will depend on the adjoining lands and surrounding surveys. For example, if there exists any evidence of doubt among plans on record as to the positions of boundaries within the area, such as absence of original marks, excesses, shortages or angular differences between boundaries, the plan may not be reliable. No exemption can be granted for this requirement.

A strata plan must compile the parcel boundary distances from the base plan.

A strata plan may not subdivide:

  • a qualified or limited title
  • a lot in a neighbourhood plan, or
  • a perpetual lease from the Crown.

See section 9 Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 and section 13(3) Community Land Development Act 2021

The parcel to be subdivided must have a building or part of a building within its boundaries.

A definition for a building is provided in Section 4 Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 as follows:

'Building', in relation to a strata scheme or a proposed strata scheme, means a building containing a lot or proposed lot, or part of a lot or of a proposed lot, in the scheme or proposed scheme.

It is the view of NSW LRS that a building must be a permanent structure, with walls, a structural base and a structural cover.

NOTE: For more information on leasehold strata schemes, see Leasehold Strata Plan – Dealing with the Titles.

For more information on Plans and Titling Contact Us Online

All NSW Legislation can be accessed at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/.