Property Lawyers Parramatta

Buying, selling or leasing in Parramatta and Western Sydney: where do you start?

If you have just had an offer accepted on a unit in Parramatta, are selling a family home in Blacktown, or have received a notice from a landlord in Merrylands, the process can feel overwhelming. Property matters in New South Wales run on strict steps and short deadlines.

The starting point depends on what you are doing. If you are buying, the key moment is exchange of contracts, which is when each side signs a copy of the contract and the copies are swapped. If you are selling, the work starts earlier, because in NSW a contract must be prepared before the property is advertised. If you are in a lease dispute, the path depends on whether the lease is residential or retail, because different Acts and different first steps apply.

This page is general information about the NSW rules, not advice about your situation.

How does conveyancing work in NSW?

Conveyancing is the legal work of transferring ownership of land from one person to another. In NSW it is built around the Conveyancing Act 1919, the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 and the Real Property Act 1900.

NSW puts the seller's disclosure inside the contract itself. A contract for sale must be prepared by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer before a residential property is offered for sale, and it must be available for inspection at the agent's office. Under section 52A of the Conveyancing Act 1919, prescribed documents must be attached, including a title search, a drainage diagram, a planning certificate from the local council (for example City of Parramatta, Blacktown or Cumberland council), copies of any registered easements or covenants, and a notice about smoke alarms and loose-fill asbestos insulation. An easement is a right someone else has over part of the land. If the property has a swimming pool or spa, pool compliance documents must also be attached. NSW Government guidance says that if required documents are missing when the contract is signed, the buyer may rescind, meaning cancel, the contract within 14 days of exchange.

After exchange, buyers of residential property usually get a cooling-off period of five business days, ending at 5pm on the fifth business day after exchange. If you pull out in that time you forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price to the seller. For off-the-plan purchases, where you buy a home that has not been built yet, the cooling-off period is ten business days. There is no cooling-off period if you buy at auction, on the same day after a property is passed in at auction, or by exercising an option to purchase. A buyer can also give up the cooling-off period by giving the seller a section 66W certificate, named after section 66W of the Conveyancing Act 1919. NSW Government guidance says the period can only be waived or shortened if your own lawyer or conveyancer provides the certificate and explains the contract and the consequences to you. Understand it before you agree. From 1 June 2026 contracts must carry an updated cooling-off notice, but the period itself is unchanged.

Settlement, the day the balance is paid and ownership changes, usually happens around six weeks after exchange. Since 11 October 2021 paper certificates of title have been cancelled in NSW and all land dealings must be lodged electronically. In practice your solicitor or conveyancer settles through an online platform such as PEXA or Sympli, and the change of ownership is recorded by NSW Land Registry Services on the State's land title register.

Transfer duty and first home buyer help in NSW

Transfer duty, which many people still call stamp duty, is paid by the buyer to Revenue NSW under the Duties Act 1997. It is generally due within three months of signing the contract, or on settlement if that comes first. Revenue NSW charges daily interest on overdue amounts. If you buy off the plan and intend to live in the home, you may be able to defer payment by up to 12 months, which generally means duty falls due at settlement or 15 months after signing, whichever comes first.

First home buyers in suburbs such as Penrith, Liverpool and Auburn often ask about concessions. Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, for contracts exchanged on or after 1 July 2023, no transfer duty is payable on a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less, and a concessional rate applies above $800,000 and under $1 million. For vacant land the full exemption applies up to $350,000, with a concession up to $450,000. You must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for at least 12 continuous months.

Separately, the First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant is $10,000 for a newly built home priced at no more than $600,000, or land plus a building contract totalling no more than $750,000. Check the eligibility rules before relying on either in your budget.

Lease and landlord disputes: NCAT at Parramatta, Penrith and Liverpool

Most residential and retail lease disputes in NSW are decided by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, known as NCAT, in its Consumer and Commercial Division. For Western Sydney, NCAT has a registry at Level 5, 9 George Street, Parramatta, as well as registries in Penrith (Ground Floor, corner of Belmore and Station Streets) and Liverpool (Level 7, 35 Scott Street).

Residential tenancies are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. NCAT can make orders about ending a tenancy, rental bonds, repairs and access, and the general limit for money orders is $15,000. The rules have changed recently. Since 31 October 2024 rent can only be increased once a year for all lease types. Since 19 May 2025 a landlord must have a valid reason to end a tenancy, whether the lease is periodic or at the end of a fixed term, and in some situations must give supporting documents with the termination notice. Further changes started in 2026, including stronger protections for victim-survivors of domestic violence from 21 September 2026. An application about a breach of the agreement must be made within three months of becoming aware of the breach, a challenge to a rent increase within 30 days of the notice, and a bond dispute within six months after the bond is paid out.

Retail shop leases fall under the Retail Leases Act 1994. A landlord must give the tenant a written disclosure statement at least seven days before the lease is entered into, and the tenant must return their own statement within seven days of receiving it. If a dispute arises, mediation through the NSW Small Business Commissioner is compulsory for most claims before NCAT will accept an application. NCAT can hear retail lease claims up to $750,000 for leases entered into from 1 July 2017, and an application must be made within three years after the liability or obligation in dispute arose.

Larger or more complex land disputes, such as a contested contract for sale, a lease of land or an easement, are generally dealt with in the Real Property List in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of NSW, which sits at the Law Courts Building, 184 Phillip Street, Sydney.

How NSW differs from other states

Property law is state law, so advice you read online or hear from family interstate may not fit. NSW attaches its disclosure documents to the contract and requires that contract to exist before marketing starts. By contrast, in Victoria the seller gives a separate vendor statement, commonly called a Section 32 statement, and Queensland has its own seller disclosure scheme under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), which commenced on 1 August 2025. Cooling-off periods, the amount you forfeit for withdrawing, duty rates and first home buyer thresholds all differ between states. The tribunal is different too: NSW uses NCAT, while Queensland uses QCAT. If your property is in Parramatta, greater Sydney or anywhere else in NSW, it is the NSW rules on this page that apply, wherever you happen to live.