Covenants on a property title: what they can stop you doing

Developers often register restrictive covenants when they subdivide an estate, to control what gets built. Others date back decades and were created when land was sold. Once registered, they bind every later owner. Common examples:

• Only one dwelling on the lot, or no further subdivision.
• A minimum house size, or required materials such as brick or tile.
• Fencing, setback, roof or colour rules.
• No parking of commercial vehicles, caravans or boats in view of the street.

• NSW: in the Second Schedule as a restriction on the use of land or a positive covenant, quoting the plan number (created by an 88B instrument) or a dealing number. Positive covenants in NSW are often required by council, for example to keep an on-site stormwater detention system working.
• VIC: listed as a covenant with its instrument number under Encumbrances, Caveats and Notices, or created as a restriction on the plan of subdivision. A section 173 agreement is listed in the same place but is an agreement with council, not a covenant.
• QLD: under Easements, Encumbrances and Interests, with a dealing number.
• SA: estate building rules are often registered as an encumbrance, shown in the title's schedule of dealings.
• WA, TAS, ACT and NT: listed among the title's registered interests with a document number.

A covenant can stop a project that the planning rules allow. Check before you pay for designs. In NSW, certifiers often ask for the covenant before they'll issue a complying development certificate. In Victoria, council generally can't grant a planning permit that would breach a registered restrictive covenant.

Removing or varying a covenant usually needs the agreement of the people who benefit from it, a court order, or a planning process. That's a job for a solicitor or town planner. Many old covenants are still registered and still enforceable, and some benefit dozens of lots, so don't assume an old one has lapsed. Some include an end date in their terms, so read them.

The title tells you a covenant exists and gives its number. The wording is in the registered document: a transfer, an 88B, a covenant instrument or an encumbrance. Order it from the registry or an information broker using the number on the title. Registry fees for one instrument in 2026-27:

At launch we sell the title search, which lists every registered covenant with its number, and the Title + Full Report, which explains each entry beside its original text, flags restrictions that commonly affect building, and lists questions for your conveyancer or certifier. The Full Report isn't available for WA, or for Queensland yet.

We don't sell the covenant documents themselves yet, so order those from the registry or a broker. We confirm the exact property before you pay, and if we can't deliver the title, you pay nothing.