Before a single apartment in a new block can be sold on its own title, the developer must complete strata plan registration. This is the step that turns one parcel of land, held on one certificate of title, into a set of individually owned strata lots plus common property, under the Registration (Strata Titles) Act.
How it works
The developer, as registered owner of the parcel, engages a commissioned land surveyor to prepare the strata plan. The plan must carry a heading identifying it as a strata plan, show the outer boundaries of the parcel, include numbered drawings of each lot, fix each lot’s boundaries by reference to floors, walls and ceilings, give approximate floor areas, and carry a schedule of unit entitlement and an address for service. The plan is lodged at the National Land Agency, where the Titles Division examines it together with the certificates and documents the regulations require. The development itself will normally already have planning and building approval from the local authority, and lenders and attorneys will expect to see that the building as constructed matches the plan.
Once the Registrar accepts the plan, the original title is closed off and a separate certificate of title is issued for each lot. Each new title carries with it an undivided share in the common property, measured by unit entitlement.
What happens next
Registration of the plan automatically brings the strata corporation into existence, made up of every lot owner. The corporation must then register itself with the Commission of Strata Corporations within the period the Act sets, and hold its first general meeting within three months to elect an executive committee.
Why buyers should care
Off-plan buyers often sign agreements long before the strata plan is registered, so completion and the handing over of a title depend on it. A purchaser’s attorney will check the plan number, the unit entitlement allotted to the lot and the by-laws attached to the plan. Delays at this stage, often caused by differences between the approved drawings and what was built, are a common reason titles arrive late.
Related terms: Strata Plan, Strata Title, Strata Lot, Deposited plan, Certificate of title, The National Land Agency, Subdivision approval.
Accurate as at October 2026.
