A Sydney apartment advertised with parking can involve very different ownership documents from another apartment next door. Start by establishing what you would acquire, which spaces it covers and who can explain any restrictions. This guide helps you request the right evidence; the contract and property-specific documents still need legal review.
First separate the title label from what you would acquire
Torrens is the land-registration system, not a building style. NSW Land Registry Services explains that its Torrens register records ownership and interests such as mortgages, leases, easements and caveats. Strata titles also sit within that register. A company-title building has land registered to the company, while the residents’ shareholdings are a separate matter.
The practical comparison below is between a non-strata parcel, a strata lot and company shares linked to occupation. It is not a choice between three entirely separate registration systems. Ask your solicitor or conveyancer to confirm the actual arrangement from the documents rather than relying on “house”, “townhouse” or “apartment” in an advertisement.
| Arrangement | Start with these records |
|---|---|
| Non-strata Torrens property | Current title search; the referenced deposited plan; documents for relevant easements, covenants or other recorded interests. Ask your adviser to confirm the land and rights covered by the contract. |
| Strata property | Lot title and strata plan; relevant common-property title information; current by-laws; strata records and report. Identify the apartment, parking and storage separately. |
| Company-title property | The company’s land title; the proposed shares and share certificate; current shareholder register; constitution/articles and documents governing occupation. Ask a solicitor what further company records are needed. |
These are starting requests, not a statutory list of everything a seller must supply. The NSW strata buyer guide and registry’s company-title guidance explain why the records differ. If your adviser identifies community title, a leasehold arrangement or another structure, request a checklist specific to it.
Non-strata Torrens: read the interests as well as the owner’s name
A title search identifies the registered landholding and its recorded interests. The registry explains that a computerised title refers to its plan rather than displaying a boundary diagram. Read the title and referenced plan together, with the underlying documents your legal adviser identifies.
- Match the lot and plan in the contract with the current title search. Ask whether all parcels needed for the purchase are included.
- List each recorded interest that needs explanation, such as a right of way, drainage easement, covenant or caveat. Ask your adviser to obtain the relevant instrument and explain its effect.
- If access, a fence or the use of adjoining land matters to you, identify the document supporting it. Ask whether a surveyor needs to resolve a boundary question.
- Put your intended use into a question: for example, “Which documents and approvals would need review before extending into this area?” Keep the legal answer separate from a selling agent’s description.
Do not interpret “Torrens title” as permission to renovate or build without further checks. Use the planning-certificate guide for the separate planning-information task, and the contract-review checklist to track advice about the purchase terms.
Strata: locate the lot, common property, parking and storage
In strata, you buy a lot and share ownership of common property. NSW Government advises buyers to check the strata plan and by-laws because the boundaries and responsibilities can differ between schemes. It says the seller must include the strata plan and a copy of the by-laws with the sale contract.
Ask your adviser to point out each space you expect to acquire or use. Is the parking or storage within your lot, in a separate lot included in the sale, or subject to another documented right? If a space is common property, ask which by-law or other document supports your use and what conditions apply. A painted number or the seller’s current use is a reason to check, not the document that resolves ownership.
- Record the lot and plan reference for the home and any separately identified space.
- Have your adviser reconcile the plan, title, contract and applicable by-laws, including any proposed changes.
- Ask what approvals would be needed for your intended alterations and who is responsible for relevant maintenance.
- Obtain a strata search report and a physical inspection with appropriate scope; they answer different questions from a title search.
Use the strata-report guide to investigate scheme records, and the special-levy and capital-works guide for funding questions. This title checklist does not assess the building’s condition or the adequacy of its funds.
Company title: trace the shares to the occupation rights
The Registrar General’s Guidelines, updated July 2026, explain that the company holds the land title. Share certificates give shareholders rights to occupy specified areas, subject to the company’s constitution. There is no separately registered title evidencing each shareholder’s ownership of an apartment. NSW LRS does not maintain the company’s shareholder register.
Request a solicitor’s review of the actual share purchase and occupation arrangements. A land title search showing the company as owner cannot, on its own, establish which shares you will receive or the terms on which you may occupy a particular apartment.
- Company and shares: identify the company, the land it owns and the exact shares proposed for transfer. Ask for the relevant share certificate and current shareholder register.
- Occupation: obtain the constitution/articles and any agreement or schedule defining the apartment, parking and storage attached to those shares. Ask the solicitor to reconcile any inconsistency.
- Conditions: ask which approvals, restrictions or procedures affect the transfer, occupation, letting or alterations. Request the applicable documents; do not assume every company has the same rules.
- Costs and decisions: ask which financial statements, budgets, meeting records, insurance and works information the solicitor needs to assess company obligations and your proposed contributions.
- Finance: ask your lender or broker to confirm whether the proposed loan can fund this particular share purchase and what evidence or conditions it requires. Record the answer before relying on a budget.
These are questions for the professionals handling the transaction, not claims that every company requires the same approval or that a particular lender will accept or reject company title. No individual constitution, share sale or lending policy has been reviewed for this article.
Worked example: “parking included” needs a document trail
Illustration only: imagine two different apartments, each described as including a car space and storage. These are invented scenarios, not real listings or an assessment of a Sydney building. The same description prompts different evidence requests.
| Hypothetical scenario | Evidence to request before treating it as resolved |
|---|---|
| Apartment A is a strata lot. The plan supplied so far does not clearly identify the storage space. | Ask the conveyancer to identify the space and reconcile the plan, contract and any relevant by-law or separate lot. Record the source document and its date; leave the storage entitlement unresolved until explained. |
| Apartment B is company title. A seller points to the bay currently used, but the occupation schedule has not been supplied. | Ask the solicitor for the constitution and relevant share/occupation documents, and confirmation of which bay and storage rights attach to the proposed shares and on what terms. Current use alone does not answer that document question. |
The useful result is a traceable answer: the identified space, the document supporting the right, any conditions and the adviser’s explanation. Neither hypothetical gap proves the seller is wrong or that the purchase should proceed. It identifies what is still missing.
Copy this title and occupation checklist
Keep this original worksheet with your private purchase records. Complete one entry for each material question; it is a discussion aid, not an official form or a certificate of legal clearance.
- Purchase identity: address, contract version, lot/plan or company name, and the exact interest proposed for transfer.
- Space or intended use: apartment, garden, parking, storage, access route or planned alteration.
- Evidence: document name, reference, date and relevant page, clause or plan area.
- Question: what is missing, inconsistent or not yet explained?
- Owner and deadline: the solicitor, conveyancer, surveyor, lender or other professional handling it, and when you need their response.
- Status: requested / received but not reviewed / explained with conditions / unresolved. Keep “document received” separate from “question answered”.
- Decision record: the adviser’s answer, any conditions or further checks, and which documents need updating before the next commitment.
Where to get records, and where Baxau can help
NSW LRS distinguishes free index searches from fuller title records available through authorised information brokers. Ask your legal representative which searches and document copies are needed. The registry also confirms that certificates of title were abolished in October 2021: request current title information rather than treating an old paper certificate as current proof.
Use the Baxau property research guide to organise recorded-sales context and follow-up questions, alongside the property-checks collection. The research tool does not replace a title search, interpret a company constitution or confirm ownership, occupation rights, finance approval or development permission. Keep private contracts, share records and personal details with the professionals who need them.
If you want help coordinating a Sydney search, ask a buyers agent what document follow-up their service includes and how they work with your legal representative. You can request an introduction with no charge to enquire and no obligation to engage. Baxau may receive a referral fee negotiated case by case; read how matching works.