This article aims to discuss matters related to property law in Sydney, including the issues that fall under it, how to find a property law solicitor, and why legal advice for the property industry is important.
In understanding property law in Sydney, let’s first understand what is property law? It is the area of law that includes matters such as forms of ownership in real, and personal property. This may also include residential and commercial property.
Property can refer to legally protected claims to resources. These include personal property, land, houses, and even intellectual property.
Furthermore, the main three types of property can be understood as real, personal and intellectual.
In detail, real property includes lands, buildings, houses; personal property includes vehicles like cars and boats, stocks, and bank accounts; and intellectual property includes copyrights, trademarks and literary works, or artistic designs.
Moreover, property law in Sydney quite often includes matters concerning family law, or estate law.
Property Law Sydney: Real Property Versus Personal Property
As mentioned before real property mainly includes land. Additionally, it can also include anything that is attached to the land like houses, commercial buildings, garages, barns, and trees.
By contrast, personal property is something “movable” that you possess. For instance, a car, laptop, mobile phone, chair, etc. can be personal property.
Interestingly, most people will own at least some kind of personal property. However, real property may not always be owned by everyone.
Australian Legislation on Property Law
In fact, when discussing property law in Sydney, it is also important to first understand the laws and legislation that are applicable to the region. For example, as Sydney is a part of NSW the relevant legislation here for property is the Real Property Act 1900. Moreover, legislation regarding ‘title’ is stated by Conveyancing Act 1919.
Additionally, when talking about ‘Title’ in property law in Sydney, or anywhere in Australia, it refers to the ownership of property.
Moreover, property law legislation in other parts of Australia include:
| Regions Of Australia | Property Legislation | Title Of Property Legislation |
| Victoria | Property Law Act (1958) | Sale of Land Act (1962) |
| Australian Capital Territory | Civil Law (Property) Act (2006) | Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003 |
| Queensland | Property Law Act 1974 | Land Titles Act 1994 |
| Northern Territory | Law of Property Act 2000 | Land Title Act 2000 |
| South Australia | Law of Property Act 1936 | Real Property Act 1886 |
| Tasmania | Conveyancing and Law Of Property Act 1884 | Land Titles Act 1980 |
| Western Australia | Property Law Act 1969 | Transfer of Land Act 1893 |
| New South Wales | Real Property Act 1900. | Conveyancing Act 1919. |
Property Law in Sydney: Types Of Matters
There are various issues and/or matters that are usually dealt with. These include:
- Transfer of property
- Buying or selling property
- Administering deeds and/or agreements
- Understanding easements and rights of way
- Commercial and retail leasing
- Construction law
- Property development (for property developers)
- Off the plan developments
For instance, when dealing with transfer of property there are various things including:
1. Pre-Exchange
- Acceptance of offer;
- Contract;
- Pre-exchange reports and strata reports; and
- Finance.
2. Exchange
- Exchanging the contract; and
- Cooling off period.
3. Stamp duty
4. Settlement
- Booking settlement
- Notice to complete
- Attending the settlement
Qualities to Look For in a Property Lawyer
When dealing with property law in Sydney and any legal proceedings related to it, it is recommended that you seek legal advice from a qualified lawyer. Additionally, there are certain traits that you should look for while choosing a property lawyer.
This is because matters related to property can get complicated and there can be unnecessary delays if they are not dealt with properly. Therefore, your lawyer should have the following qualities.
1. Years Of Experience
Firstly, they need to have many years of experience in dealing with different legal matters related to real, personal, and residential property. Moreover, this experience helps them gain knowledge about different types of cases, and helps them tackle each unique case differently, depending on the situation.
2. Great Communication
Above all, It is very important to be informed about all legal procedures from start to finish. Specifically, you need to have a conveyancer or a property lawyer who diligently updates you and relays all relevant information to you.
Furthermore, they should also be available to meet you whenever you require, and discuss all important aspects about your case.
3. Transparency
Many times, lawyers fail to explain each legal procedure to their client because of how technical the information gets. This is especially true for this field of law as it can be very technical.
However, it is the responsibility of the conveyancer to facilitate transparency by informing the client about every step of property transactions, no matter how technical the information is.
Furthermore, this also allows the clients to place more trust on the property lawyer. Certainly, matters like sale of property can be an emotional process for some people. Therefore, it is important to have trustworthy professionals to help you with it.
Additional Qualities of Property Lawyers
1. Problem-Solving Ability
There are many challenges that may arise as a part of the conveyancing process when dealing with property law in Sydney. Hence, good problem-solving ability is an important quality that the property lawyer must have.
In addition to this, the conveyancer should be able to uncover problems, conduct thorough research, and find out the most effective solution to address the problem.
2. Professionalism
Lastly, all lawyers must have the quality of professionalism in them. This includes showing integrity, and sound judgement when making decisions. Furthermore, professionalism is reflected in the way the conveyancer communicates. Moreover, they must be quick to follow-up with clients always.
Additionally, they must also be professional negotiators as this is an important characteristic in this field of law.
JB Solicitors’ Property Lawyers Sydney
Lastly, having understood the kinds of matters that fall under property law, and the traits that a good property lawyer should have, you must have realised that you need to make your decision on choosing the right lawyer carefully.
Even though people prefer to handle these matters by themselves, it is necessary to engage with leading lawyers.
At JB Solicitors, our Property and Conveyancing lawyers have a wealth of experience in reviewing contracts, providing advice on the same, and preparing these contracts.
Furthermore, we offer fixed-fee pricing for our legal services allowing you to have a clear sense of the costs right from the start. Subsequently, we also provide cost agreements at the get go.
Contact an experienced property lawyer based in Sydney if you need property and conveyancing services today.
