All land ownership in New South Wales is administered by Land
Registry Services NSW.
When you purchase a property, documents are prepared to transfer
the property into your name and a Certificate of Title, or title
deed as it is more commonly known, is the legal document that is
evidence that you own the property.
The name "title deed" is a term that was used when
land ownership in NSW was based on the British system known as
"Old System" where a chain of title deeds had to be kept
proving ownership of the land. Over the years this Old System
has been converted to what we now know as "Torrens
Title". This is where a record of each purchase is recorded at
Land Registry Services and a Certificate of Title issued in the new
owner's name.
