This week in the A – Z of Conveyancing, we’ll go through the commonly used terms in relation to conveyancing, looking at the letter O.

Occupation Certificate

A certificate which certifies that a newly built property is safe to be occupied and complies with legislation and building regulations. This is provided at the finalisation of a build. Until an occupation certificate has been issued, the premises cannot be legally occupied.

Off the Plan

A property which is not yet built is referred to as “off the plan”. Unlike an already built property you are unable to physically inspect the property and are reliant on the developer’s plans and designs for the building and draft strata plan or deposited plan.

Open house

Prior to entering into a contract to purchase a property, an inspection is undertaken to determine whether the home is suitable for your requirements. This is often done at the open house where several interested parties attend at a nominated time to inspect the property and make enquiries to the agent who is in attendance.

Owners Corporation

An Owners Corporation is the entity created when a strata scheme is established. This is made up of all the lot owners in the strata scheme and is usually managed by the strata manager who keeps records in connection with the scheme such as financials, strata meetings, and any changes to individual lots or to the common property.

For more information on the A – Z of Conveyancing check out our other posts: