Buying a house in NSW: what to check before you exchange

Before you exchange contracts on a house in NSW, read the section 10.7 planning certificate and title documents in the contract, check flood, bushfire, loose-fill asbestos and ground hazards, book a building and pest inspection, and have a conveyancer or solicitor review it all. The cooling-off period is only five business days, and using it costs you 0.25% of the price.

What does the vendor have to attach to a NSW contract of sale?

The seller must attach the documents listed in the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022. For a house they are:

• A section 10.7(2) planning certificate from the council.
• Sewer diagrams from the water authority, showing the pipe on the lot and where it joins the main.
• Title documents: a property certificate and plan for the lot, plus every registered document that creates an easement (a right for someone else to use part of the land), covenant or other restriction.
• Pool documents, if there is a pool.
• Strata plan and by-laws, for a unit.

The standard contract also carries printed warnings, including one about loose-fill asbestos insulation in homes built before 1985. Your conveyancer also runs a title search and checks rates and land tax.

What does a section 10.7 planning certificate show?

A section 10.7(2) certificate is the council's statement of the planning controls and hazards that apply to one lot, as at the day it is issued. It must be attached to the contract. It covers the matters in Schedule 2 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021: zoning, flood related development controls, bush fire prone land, loose-fill asbestos, mine subsidence, and council hazard policies (landslip, tidal inundation, acid sulfate soils).

A 10.7(5) certificate adds other advice the council chooses to give. The conveyancing rules do not require it to be attached, but any buyer can ask for it. See our section 10.7 certificate guide.

How do I check zoning and overlays on a NSW property?

Use the free NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer. Search an address or lot and DP number to see the zoning, planning controls and hazard layers (bush fire prone land, flood planning, acid sulfate soils, mine subsidence) and download a property report. Our Spatial Viewer how-to has the steps.

LayeredGeo's Property Report is a $9 PDF that puts the zoning, flood, bushfire and heritage overlays, easements and nearby development applications for one NSW address in one document, drawn from NSW Planning Portal and council data, with the water and sewer pipes where the utility publishes them. It is not a council certificate or a title search, and a free map preview shows what is mapped before you pay.

How do I check if a house is flood prone in NSW?

Check the certificate, the council and a flood model, then get a quote.

• The certificate. Section 10.7(2) must say whether the land is in the flood planning area and subject to flood-related development controls, and whether it sits between that area and the probable maximum flood (the largest flood that could occur). A council that lacks the information should answer "unknown", and unmapped land can still be affected, so a "no" is not proof of dry ground.
• The council. Many councils issue a flood certificate for a fee. Inner West Council's gives the 1% AEP (a 1 in 100 chance each year) and probable maximum flood levels, depth and hazard for the property. Flood mapping is held by councils, so the Planning Portal flood layer may not be the latest. See how to read a NSW flood study.
• A model. LayeredGeo's Flood Model Report is a $9 PDF that lists every published flood model reaching one NSW address, with the modelled depth, velocity and flood level for each event, where a published flood model covers the address.
• Insurance. Get a flood quote for the exact address before you exchange. Moneysmart notes that higher-risk homes can cost more to insure and flood cover might be excluded.

Is the house on bush fire prone land?

Run the address through the NSW Rural Fire Service bush fire prone land tool. Results are valid only for the day you search, and the RFS says to confirm the status on the section 10.7 certificate. See bushfire prone area maps by state.

Does the house have loose-fill asbestos?

NSW Fair Trading keeps the Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Register of homes that have tested positive. The section 10.7(2) certificate must state whether the property is listed, but the register only holds homes that were tested, so a clear result is not an all-clear. The contract's pre-1985 warning also tells you to ask the council for its records.

What do easements and title tell me?

Check where each easement and covenant in the contract runs against where you want to build or extend. See easements on title and sewer easements.

Which inspections do I need?

• Building and pest. A building inspection is a written report on the house's condition, usually done before exchange. It does not detect termites or cost repairs, so book a pest inspection too.
• Strata. For a unit, get a strata search report and a section 184 certificate. Inspectors normally assess only the inside of the lot, so common property needs its own report.
• Pool. The contract must include a registration certificate from the Swimming Pool Register plus a certificate of compliance, a relevant occupation certificate issued in the last 3 years, or a certificate of non-compliance. If they are missing, you may rescind within 14 days of exchange unless settlement has happened. With a non-compliance certificate you have 90 days after settlement to fix the defects. Strata schemes of more than two lots are exempt.

What about reactive clay, fill, acid sulfate soils and mine subsidence?

The contract says little about the ground itself. Acid sulfate soils are mapped on the LEP in five classes by likelihood and depth. In a mine subsidence district, Subsidence Advisory NSW sets the development requirements, and you can ask the seller whether structures have the correct approvals. Reactive clay (it shrinks as it dries and swells as it wets) can crack slabs and walls, and the site investigation decides the AS 2870 class.

LayeredGeo's Terrain Report is a $9 PDF with the contours, cross sections, grade and driveway grade of one NSW property. The Pre-Purchase Property Report bundles the Property Report, Flood Model Report and Terrain Report for one address at $25. If you plan to build or extend, LayeredGeo's geotechnical desktop study is a $119 PDF for NSW addresses covering mapped geology, nearby bore logs, soils, acid sulfate soil, groundwater, slope and an indicative soil reactivity range. It is a desktop study, not a site investigation.

How long is the cooling-off period, and do I need a conveyancer?

The cooling-off period is five business days after exchange, or 10 for an off-the-plan contract. If you rescind you pay the vendor 0.25% of the price. There is no cooling-off period at auction, and it can be waived with a section 66W certificate. Conveyancers and solicitors are equally qualified, and conveyancers must be licensed with NSW Fair Trading.

Check	What it tells you	Where	Cost
Section 10.7(2) certificate	Zoning, flood, bushfire, asbestos, mine subsidence	Council or Planning Portal	Council fee
Spatial Viewer, bush fire tool, asbestos register	Zoning, hazards, listed homes	NSW Government	Free
Building and pest report	Condition, timber pests	Inspector	Quote
Property Report	Overlays, easements, nearby DAs	LayeredGeo	$9
Flood Model Report	Modelled flood depth and level	LayeredGeo	$9
Terrain Report	Contours, grade, driveway grade	LayeredGeo	$9
Pre-Purchase bundle	All three reports	LayeredGeo	$25
Geotechnical desktop study	Geology, soils, reactivity range	LayeredGeo	$119

Common questions

What should I check before buying a house in NSW? Read the section 10.7 certificate, title documents and sewer diagram, check flood, bushfire, asbestos and ground hazards, get a building and pest inspection, and have a conveyancer review the contract.

What searches should I do before buying a house in NSW? Your conveyancer runs a title search and checks rates and land tax. Add the section 10.7 certificate, a flood check, the bush fire prone land tool, the loose-fill asbestos register and, for a unit, a strata search.

How do I check if a property is flood prone in NSW? Read the flood notation on the section 10.7(2) certificate, ask the council for a flood certificate, and see LayeredGeo's $9 Flood Model Report where a published model covers the address.

What report should I get before buying a house in NSW? A building and pest inspection is the core report. Add LayeredGeo's $25 Pre-Purchase Property Report for overlays, flood and terrain, and its $119 geotechnical desktop study if you plan to build.

How long is the cooling-off period when buying a house in NSW? Five business days after exchange, and you pay the vendor 0.25% of the price if you rescind.

To see the overlays and easements for a NSW address before you exchange, pop in your address or check out a sample report.

LayeredGeo's Property Report pulls together public planning and site data for property due diligence across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania, so you can understand a place before you commit.

About this article. Published by LayeredGeo and written from the published research cited in the Sources section above. It is general information about how property and ground conditions are assessed in Australia, not engineering, planning, legal or financial advice, and it is not specific to any property. Check anything that matters against the source dataset or a suitably qualified professional before you rely on it. If you spot something wrong, tell us at hello@layeredgeo.com.au and we will fix it.

← All articles