First published: 16 March 2020
Jurisdiction: NSW
Additional Resources: Help Card
Overview
If a joint tenant is deceased and there is at least one surviving tenant, then the surviving joint tenant(s) can make an application to the Land Registry to have the deceased’s name removed, so that only the surviving proprietor’s name is on the Title.
If all joint tenants are deceased or the tenancy type is Tenants in Common, then lodge a Transmission instead.
In New South Wales, a Notice of Death:
- Can be processed for Joint Tenant Title,
- Can be processed for Tenants in Common Titles that have Joint Tenants groups,
- All surviving Joint Tenants must be represented in the Notice of Death.
Note: If there are multiple joint tenants in the tenancy group and one or more surviving tenant will remain on title, a Notice of Death application for each deceased proprietor must be prepared in a separate workspace.
A Notice of Death can be lodged as a standalone, or in combination with any of the following document types supported in PEXA:
- Consent
- Discharge of Mortgage
- Withdrawal of Caveat
- Mortgage
- Transfer
- Part Tenancy Transfer
Note: A Transmission can be lodged in the same workspace as a Notice of Death where the tenancy type is TIC with joint inter -se and one of the Tenants in common is also deceased.
Evidence requirements
When lodging a Notice of Death in PEXA, you are not required to upload evidentiary material, however, you are still required to provide evidence details and retain the evidence for auditing purposes. PEXA accepts the following evidence types:
- Death Certificate
- Certificate under NSW Trustee and Guardian Act
- Coroners Report
- Medical Certificate certifying death
Steps
- Create Workspace with the following settings:
- Role = Proprietor on Title.
- Financial Settlement = No.
- Check that the details returned from the Land Registry are correct:
- The tenancy type is Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common with a Joint Tenancy group.
- Mark the proprietor as deceased:
- Navigate to the Participants screen from the left-hand-side menu.
- Select Edit Party from the Actions column next to the deceased party.
- Select The Proprietor is Deceased.
- In the Details of Death panel, click Add Details of Death and enter the date of death:
- Actual date,
- Date range, or
- Date description.
- Click Confirm.
- Save the changes.
Note: If there is more than one deceased tenant, then you must create a Notice of Death document for each deceased party in a separate Workspace.
- Represent the surviving tenant:
Note: If there is more than one surviving joint tenant, you are required to represent only one of the surviving tenants in the Workspace.- On the Participants screen, select Edit Party from the Actions column next to the surviving party you represent.
- In the Party Details panel, enter all required information:
- Full name of the surviving tenant (this must match the name registered on title).
- Date of birth.
- Address details (required for the Notice of Sale (enter if the address does not appear in the available addresses).
- Save the changes.
- Create the Notice of Death document:
Note: If there is more than one deceased tenant, then you must create a Notice of Death document for each deceased party in a separate Workspace.- Navigate to the Documents screen from the left-hand-side menu.
- Select Create Documents > Notice of Death.
Some details on this form are pre-populated from the information you entered on the Participants - Under Deceased Proprietor Details, check that the deceased party is correctly listed and then add the evidence details:
- Select an Evidence Type.
- Enter the Evident Document Reference ID.
- Enter the date the certificate or report was dated.
- Check that the Surviving Tenant Details is correct.
If there are multiple surviving tenants, only one tenant is required to be listed here. If you need to make any corrections, go to the Participants screen and edit the Party - Click Save to create the document.
- Edit the Notice of Sale:
Upon creation of a Notice of Death document, a Notice of Sale document is automatically generated.- On the Documents screen, select Edit next to the Notice of Sale.
- In the Property Details panel, enter the Locality (i.e.: the name of the local government area).
- In the Service of Notice Details panel, ensure the details are correct and a Service of Notice Address has been added.
- Ensure that the Acquisition Date is correct; If necessary, update the date.
The Acquisition Date can be different from the actual date of death if the date of death is unknown. - Click Save.
- Create a Consent:
- The Consent Type is Transacting Party Consent.
- The Transacting Party is the surviving tenant.
Note: If there is a Mortgagee registered on title, proceed to the Participants screen and invite the Mortgagee on Title as Consentor. This allows them to prepare the Consent document.
- Sign, and lodge the Notice of Death application:
- On the Documents screen, select Edit next to Lodgement Instructions.
- Check that the details are correct and then click Save.
If document verification is successful, and each document in the lodgement case is prepared and successful, signing will be available for that document. - Select Sign next to Lodgement Instructions to go to the Document Signing
- Review the signing terms and conditions listed in the Lodgement Instructions panel and then select the Sign all check box.
Results
Once the Notice of Death is lodged with the Land Registry, the deceased tenant will be removed from the Title. If there are multiple deceased tenants, any subsequent Notice of Death documents can be lodged once the first Notice of Death has been registered.
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