News
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
News
Certificates of title – soon a thing of the past
April 16th, 2019
An exciting development in property law has been announced. After much anticipation, the Queensland Government has now passed legislation which will mean that from 1 October 2019, original paper certificates of title (also known as title deeds) for property in Queensland will no longer have any legal effect.
The titles of property in Queensland have been maintained electronically for many years and the dispensation of paper certificates of title marks one of the final changes to fully electronic titling. While older certificates of title can be retained for historical value, many a grey hair is likely to be avoided from the stress of trying to locate lost certificates after many years or explaining the inadvertent destruction of certificates. Currently the process for dispensing with a paper certificate of title is a fairly arduous process involving extensive enquiries, advertising and declarations.
Prior to 1994, every property in Queensland had a paper certificate of title issued for it. This certificate was required in order to deal with property, by sale, transfer, mortgage or otherwise. However, from 1994 the Queensland Titles Registry converted to an electronic titles register and has not automatically issued paper titles for property since then. A paper certificate could only be obtained on request and for a fee.
Where a paper certificate of title is issued, it must be produced when any dealings with the land are to be registered with the Queensland Titles Registry. Without it, a dealing affecting land (where a paper certificate is issued) cannot register. It is an important document, that by itself, evidences ownership of property. As a result, lost or stolen certificates can (and historically have been) a huge concern for owners of property, particularly when trying to complete a sale of their property within the time frames of a standard conveyance.
More recently, the Titles Registry has been working to phase out the paper certificate of title. When a certificate of title has been issued for a property and a dealing lodged for registration (such as a transfer of ownership which required the deposit of the original paper title), the original certificate would be destroyed and not reissued.
As a result many properties no longer have paper certificates issued today.
Please feel free to contact us on 07 4036 9700 if you have questions about how these changes will affect your property if you have a paper title for your property issued. Miller Harris Lawyers would be happy to assist you with all your property law questions.
More