Strata title vs Torrens title — what Queensland buyers need to know

Torrens title (standard freehold)

Under a standard format plan you own the land and everything on it, bounded by the surveyed boundaries of your lot. There is no body corporate, no levies and no by-laws. You maintain the property, insure it, and — subject to council approvals and any easements or covenants on the title — decide what happens to it.

The Torrens system itself is the register: title is guaranteed by registration rather than by a chain of historical deeds. Almost all Queensland land is Torrens title in that sense, including community title lots.

Community titles (what buyers call strata)

In a building format plan — the usual arrangement for units and apartments — your lot is defined by the structure itself: typically the internal surfaces of the walls, floor and ceiling. The building's structure, roof, external walls, common driveways, pools and gardens are common property, owned collectively and managed by the body corporate.

You automatically become a member of the body corporate on settlement. You pay administrative and sinking fund levies, you are bound by the by-laws, and decisions about the building are made by the committee and at general meetings rather than by you.

The practical differences that matter

Same tenure, very different ownership experience:

• Cost: freehold has no levies; a scheme lot carries quarterly levies that rise with the building's age and facilities
• Insurance: the body corporate insures the building; you insure contents and improvements only
• Renovation: structural or external changes in a scheme generally need body corporate approval as well as council's
• Pets, letting and parking: governed by the by-laws in a scheme, not by you
• Risk: a special levy for defects or remediation can run to tens of thousands per lot
• Finance: some lenders restrict lending on small schemes, high-rise, serviced apartments or lots under a certain floor area

Other Queensland arrangements to be aware of

Not everything is one or the other:

• Community title scheme with a volumetric or standard format plan — you own the land under your townhouse but still have common property and a body corporate
• Community management statement — the document setting out the by-laws, lot entitlements and any exclusive use areas; read it before you buy
• Building management statement — used where a building has separate commercial and residential components sharing services
• Company title and leasehold — rare in Queensland, and both are treated differently by lenders

What we check on a community title purchase

The disclosure statement is a starting point, not the whole story. We review the last two years of committee and general meeting minutes, the sinking fund forecast, the insurance valuation, the levy history, any special levy struck or foreshadowed, the by-laws, and whether the lot has the benefit of an exclusive use area — car park, courtyard or storage — recorded properly in the community management statement rather than just handed over informally.

Frequently asked questions