Electronic certificate of title Victoria
The Land Titles Office (LTO) is currently in the process of working with the major banks to convert paper certificate of titles (pCT) to electronic certificate of title Victoria (eCT).
This conversion process will occur in two phases:
- From 19 September 2016 onward, all major banks will replace paper certificates of title for dealings scheduled to settle after 22 October 2016 with electronic certificate of title Victoria.
- On 22 October 2016, Land Victoria will conduct a bulk conversion of paper certificates of titles to electronic certificate of title Victoria where a major bank is the first mortgagee on title.
How will this affect lodgement at Land Victoria?
Land Victoria will accept the lodgement of paper and electronic certificates of title Victoria up until 22 October 2016. From 24 October 2016 onwards, Land Victoria will no longer accept paper certificates of title for lodgement where the title has been converted into an eCT and the outgoing mortgagee is a major bank.
With all property dealings involving an eCT, the outgoing mortgagee will need to lodge a nomination to make the certificate of title available at the titles office for the specific dealing. Any attempt to lodge a paper certificate of title that has been converted into an eCT where the outgoing mortgagee is a major bank will be referred back to the outgoing mortgagee to lodge this nomination. If you have any concerns regarding your settlement that involves an electronic certificate of title Victoria, contact your bank- the outgoing mortgagee for further clarification.
Identifying an electronic certificate of title Victoria
Electronic certificates of title (eCT) will be easily identified in the Administrative Notices section on a title search. This will also identify who holds eCT Control.
In Victoria the eCT Control may be held by any PEXA Subscriber. The eCT Controller (eg. the Vendor’s Bank or if unencumbered, the Vendor’s representative) will complete and lodge a Nomination in PEXA, forgoing eCT Control upon registration of the settlement dealing. This is the electronic equivalent of bringing a paper title to settlement.
This means you no longer need a paper certificate of title at a manual settlement. A title search/final search will confirm the Nomination has been registered, along with its dealing number. This is your guarantee that the property transaction can proceed just as it would with a paper title.
Although it is not necessary, you are able to print the title search/final search showing completion of all dealings and take it to settlement.
Land Victoria have provided some useful information regarding eCTs. Alternatively, contact our conveyancing lawyers for further information.
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