Caveats – Who, What, Why?

What is a caveat?

A caveat is a form of warning with respect to land.  A caveat alerts others that the person who lodged the caveat (caveator) has an unregistered interest in the land against which the caveat is lodged (although at times it may not be an eligible interest in which case it is not a valid caveat - see below).

It also serves as a type of statutory injunction that prevents actions prohibited in the caveat from being undertaken by either the registered proprietor or any third party intending to deal with the land.

What does a caveat do?

Once a caveat is lodged against land, the Registrar General will generally prevent those actions described to be prohibited in the caveat from being undertaken. A common example would be to prohibit the registration of new dealings which would affect the interest of the caveator against the land.  There are, however, exceptions to this general rule, for example: