Updated 4 November 2026
CM Law's Ultimate List: The top 50 FAQs on Buying a Residential Investment Property #29: Title Search
Explore the full residential investment property guide.
A promising rental return means little if the contract names the wrong seller or the access you need is not legally available. Before buying an investment property in NSW, check the title against the contract and your intended use. A title search is an important starting point, but its value comes from understanding the entries and following up the questions they raise.
What does a title search show?
For ordinary Torrens title land, a current search identifies the registered owner, the land’s legal description and recorded interests or notifications. These can include mortgages, easements, restrictions, leases and caveats. It shows the register at the time of the search, rather than everything affecting the property.
Check the lot and plan, not just the street address. Parking, storage or adjoining land may need separate investigation. The NSW LRS portal guide distinguishes title searches from plans, dealings and historical searches.
How do you obtain the right title information?
Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer can arrange the relevant searches, or you can purchase title products through approved information brokers. Start with the correct title reference, then obtain any plans and registered instruments needed to understand the entries. A basic title search is not a complete ownership history.
The NSW LRS portal FAQs explain how to obtain title and plan products. An old paper certificate is not current proof: NSW cancelled certificates of title in October 2021.
Does NSW law require every buyer to order a search?
There is no blanket rule requiring every buyer personally to order a title search. NSW law instead imposes prescribed contract disclosure obligations on vendors, while buyers should investigate what they are purchasing. A property can lawfully be sold subject to easements or other interests that will remain.
Under section 52A of the Conveyancing Act 1919 and the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022, relevant documents must accompany the contract. NSW’s contract guidance identifies title, planning, drainage and specified dealings among them.
Why must the contract identify the correct vendor?
The contract should identify the actual legal seller and the capacity in which that seller acts. Compare the vendor’s details with the title and investigate any mismatch. Someone describing themselves as the business owner does not establish that they personally own the land or can transfer it.
I have encountered a contract in which a vendor used his personal name when the business entity should have been named. That experience reinforces the need to check the seller’s identity and authority before proceeding.
Is a business name the same as a company name?
No. A business name is a trading name, not a separate legal person. A company is legally separate from its directors and shareholders, while a sole trader is the individual operating the business. An individual’s name is therefore not automatically incorrect simply because the seller runs a business.
ASIC explains the different structures and business-name registration. Where a company owns the land, check its legal name, ACN, status and signing authority. Trustee, executor or attorney sales may require additional evidence.
What if the title shows a mortgage or caveat?
A mortgage is common and does not automatically make a purchase unsafe. Your representative must check the contract and arrange any required discharge for completion. A caveat records a claimed interest and may prevent registration of dealings; it is not a court finding that the claim is valid.
Ask which interests will be removed and which you will accept. Discharging a mortgage and withdrawing a caveat involve distinct steps. Paying the purchase price does not, by itself, remove every recorded interest.
Why read an easement’s terms and plan?
A title entry may tell you that an easement exists without explaining its full operation. The registered instrument and plan help identify who benefits, which land is affected, what use is permitted and any obligations. Compare those rights with the access, services or development your investment requires.
A driveway you can physically use may not provide the legal access you assume. Ask whether the grant covers your property and proposed use, and whether maintenance obligations could affect your budget.
Can covenants or restrictions affect renovations?
Yes. A restriction on use or a covenant may affect building work, land use or continuing obligations. Its effect depends on the document, applicable law and the property involved. Do not assume that council approval removes a private restriction, or that every restriction makes renovation impossible.
Give your adviser the actual proposal, such as an extension or additional dwelling. The advice should address the registered wording and planning requirements together, rather than relying on an agent’s general description of development potential.
Will a title search confirm the fences are correctly positioned?
No. A search identifies the registered parcel but does not measure structures or fences on the ground. Compare the registered plan with the property, and obtain advice from a registered surveyor where boundaries or encroachments are uncertain. A longstanding fence is not conclusive proof of the legal boundary.
The Registrar General’s boundary guidance explains surveying and formal boundary determinations. Resolve material uncertainty before committing to a purchase, particularly if access, an extension or the usable land area depends on it.
What other checks does an investor need?
A title search does not establish building condition, lawful use, flood exposure, strata finances or every outstanding charge. Your investigations should match the property and investment plan. Building and pest reports, planning enquiries, strata records and checks of existing tenancies may each answer questions the register cannot.
NSW’s conveyancing guidance outlines wider enquiries. For example, a land tax clearance certificate is a separate protection against a land tax charge; a clear-looking title is not a substitute for that check.
When should searches be checked and refreshed?
Review the title and relevant documents before exchanging contracts or bidding at auction. Your representative should also arrange appropriate updated searches and final checks before settlement, because the register can change. An earlier search should not be treated as permanent confirmation that no new interest has been recorded.
Contract timing matters: auction purchases do not have the usual cooling-off protection. Raise access, ownership and document concerns early enough for advice and any necessary negotiations before you become committed.
Does a title search prevent property fraud?
A title search helps identify the registered owner but does not prove that the person giving instructions is that owner. It cannot, by itself, establish identity or authority to sell. Those checks require supporting evidence, and particular care where someone signs for a company or another person.
The Registrar General’s subscriber guidance expressly separates title information from verification of identity and the right to deal. A matching name alone is insufficient to authenticate the person involved.
What real case shows why easement wording matters?
In Westfield Management Limited v Perpetual Trustee Company Limited [2007] HCA 45, the High Court held that a registered right of way serving one Sydney commercial property did not permit access through it to additional sites. The dispute shows why an easement’s wording matters alongside its location and the benefited land.
Westfield owned Skygarden and wanted to use a driveway beneath neighbouring Glasshouse to reach its Imperial Arcade and Centrepoint redevelopment sites. The easement benefited Skygarden. Its broad wording did not extend the permitted journey beyond that land. On 3 October 2007, the Court unanimously dismissed Westfield’s appeal with costs.
The decision concerned a registered easement’s interpretation, not a finding that a purchaser skipped a search or a quantified damages award. The practical lesson for residential buyers is to check the instrument and plan against the access actually needed.
What should you do if a title problem appears?
Ask your solicitor to identify the issue, its practical effect and the available contractual or statutory options. A missing document, name mismatch or unexpected interest does not automatically cancel a sale. The response depends on the facts, the contract, applicable law and whether relevant deadlines have passed.
Before exchange, you may be able to seek clarification, corrected documents or negotiated protections. After exchange, obtain prompt advice before withholding payment or attempting to withdraw. A contract review can identify the next steps.
How can CM Lawyers help with your purchase?
CM Lawyers can review your contract, title and related documents, explain recorded interests and investigate questions about the seller’s identity or authority. We can also identify further enquiries relevant to your intended investment. Bring the contract and your plans to us early, before exchange or auction day.
For help buying a property, call (02) 9557 9000, email lawyers@cmlaw.com.au or contact CM Lawyers. Tell us how you intend to rent, renovate or use the property so the review addresses what matters to you.
This article provides general information about NSW property transactions, not advice on your particular purchase. Obtain advice on the contract and current title documents before acting.
Key resources
NSW Land Registry Services — title searches and plan products.
NSW Registrar General — current title information and electronic conveyancing.
NSW Registrar General — identity verification and the right to deal.
ASIC — sole trader, partnership, company and trust structures.
NSW Government — conveyancing checks for buyers and sellers.
