Landlords and tenants would be forgiven for thinking they need
not worry about the new Personal Property Securities Act 2009
(PPSA), which commenced on 30 January 2012. After all, the new law
refers to personal property, not land, so there should be no
problem. However the PPSA has implications for real estate as
well.
In general terms the PPSA creates a national registration system
for security interests in tangible (and some intangible) items of
personal property, which basically means property other than land.
Someone with an interest in tangible property like goods or
equipment ("chattels") can register that interest on the
PPS Register. The PPSA is specifically prevented from applying to
an interest in a tangible item of property when that item is
sufficiently annexed to land such as to be deemed a fixture.
