Inner City & CBD

Conveyancing across the Inner City & CBD.

Across Melbourne's inner city, buying property mostly means buying a lot in a building. Apartments range from 61.5% of occupied private dwellings in Parkville to 99.2% in the CBD, and every suburb here except East Melbourne is more than 63% rented. The contract review turns on owners corporation documents, not on fences and easements.

Prepared handles inner-city files as strata files. Owners corporation certificates and maintenance plans, cladding history, heritage and audit overlays, and off-the-plan terms, read before you are committed rather than after.

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About Inner City & CBD

The region runs outward from the Hoddle Grid: Carlton and Parkville to the north across the university and biomedical precincts, North and West Melbourne to the north-west around the rail yards and Queen Victoria Market, East Melbourne and Jolimont to the east behind the parklands and the MCG, and Docklands and Southbank on the water. Five Metro Tunnel stations, being Arden, Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac, opened with the tunnel on 30 November 2025, with all Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury trains running through it from 1 February 2026.

What the market here means for your contract

The dwelling mix separates these suburbs more than the map does. The CBD, Southbank and Docklands are almost entirely apartments, at 99.2, 98.3 and 97.8% of occupied private dwellings at the 2021 Census. Parkville, North Melbourne and East Melbourne hold the region's terrace stock, at 36.1, 26.8 and 22.5% semi-detached, row or terrace houses and townhouses.

That difference decides which risks matter. The tower suburbs push you towards owners corporation finances, cladding and building defects. The terrace suburbs push you towards heritage permits, unapproved works, party walls and covenants.

Before you sign

In Victoria you get three clear business days to cool off, and none at all if you buy at auction.

That is the whole window. A contract read after settlement is a bill, not advice. If the property is going to auction, the review has to happen before you raise your hand, and it costs you nothing to have it done. There is no reason to be the person who finds out afterwards.

Send it now, free

Local detail

What we check in Inner City & CBD

Owners corporation due diligence dominates

Where most dwellings are apartments, the owners corporation certificate is the centre of the contract review. Schemes with more than 100 occupiable lots are Tier 1 under the Owners Corporations Regulations and must have audited financial statements, a maintenance plan and a maintenance fund. Smaller schemes carry fewer safeguards and often no forward plan at all. Ask for the certificate, the minutes and the fund balance in every case, and get a certificate for each owners corporation where a building has more than one.

Combustible cladding across the tower stock

The inner city holds the bulk of Victoria's combustible cladding cohort, and it is where the issue first surfaced, after the Lacrosse tower fire on La Trobe Street, Docklands on 25 November 2014. The Cladding Safety Victoria funded program covered more than 1,600 buildings, but those outside it carry rectification costs themselves. Ask for assessments, rectification minutes and funding correspondence, and check the building insurance policy for cladding exclusions.

Heritage precincts across the older suburbs

Blanket heritage precincts cover much of Carlton, East Melbourne and Jolimont, North and West Melbourne, and Parkville, along with ten precincts inside the Capital City Zone. Where a precinct applies, demolition and external alterations need a planning permit. In East Melbourne a property may also be on the Victorian Heritage Register, which brings a separate Heritage Victoria permit under the Heritage Act 2017. Check the permit history as well as the overlay, because unapproved works transfer with the land.

Contamination and flood overlays on renewal land

Former industrial and rail land in Arden, Macaulay and West Melbourne carries the Environmental Audit Overlay, under which a residential use cannot commence until a preliminary risk screen assessment statement, or an environmental audit statement or certificate under Part 8.3 of the Environment Protection Act 2017, has been issued. Separately, Amendment C384melb, gazetted 13 December 2024, added updated Special Building Overlay and Land Subject to Inundation Overlay schedules across City of Melbourne catchments. Both show on the planning certificate, and both are easy to skim past.

Off-the-plan and short-stay rules

Off-the-plan purchases are more common here than anywhere else in Melbourne. Victoria's temporary off-the-plan duty concession for strata apartments and townhouses runs to 20 October 2026 and is open to all purchasers, with foreign purchaser additional duty still applying separately. Since 1 January 2025 an owners corporation has also been able to ban short stays by special resolution, and Victoria's short stay levy applies to bookings under 28 days. Both need checking before a contract goes unconditional.

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How it works in 3 steps

Step 1

Upload your contract

Upload your contract, add a few details and you’re done. No appointment to book, no credit card and no obligation.

Step 2

Same business day review

In before 2pm, back before you need it.

We’ll send you a free legal review to help you understand what matters, what to watch for and what to do next.

Step 3

Your call

Walk away, or have us run the matter through to PEXA settlement for $1,600 incl. GST fixed.

Either is fine with us.

How we help in Inner City & CBD

Contract of Sale reviews

Before you sign anything, we review the Contract of Sale and explain the terms, special conditions and risks that could affect your purchase.

Section 32 Vendor Statement reviews

The Section 32 carries the planning controls, easements, owners corporation details and outgoings. We explain what it means and flag anything that deserves a closer look.

Property conveyancing

Buying or selling, we manage the legal transfer of ownership, prepare the documents and coordinate every party through to settlement.

Settlement and statement of adjustments

We prepare and check settlement figures, including council rates, water rates, owners corporation fees and other adjustments, so nothing is wrong on the day.

Electronic settlement through PEXA

Most Victorian settlements now happen electronically. We run the whole process securely and keep you informed at each step.

Owners corporation due diligence

Buying an apartment, townhouse or unit means buying into an owners corporation. We review the records, financial statements, rules, maintenance obligations and any known issues.

Easements, covenants and title restrictions

We explain everything affecting the title, including easements, restrictive covenants, caveats, mortgages, section 173 agreements and other registered interests that could limit what you do with the property.

Stamp duty and Duties Online

We calculate your duty, prepare the documents and lodge everything through Victoria's Duties Online system.

Victorian property law advice

Victoria has its own legislation and its own processes. Our team works exclusively in Victorian property law, so you get advice from people who do this every day.

Special conditions and contract drafting

Not every Contract of Sale is standard. We review and draft special conditions so they protect your interests and match what was actually agreed.

Cooling-off rights

Where cooling-off applies, we explain the rights, the deadlines and the exceptions before you commit.

Vacant possession and tenanted properties

Buying an investment property, or expecting the place empty on settlement day? We explain your rights and obligations, including leases, notice requirements and settlement conditions.

GST and GST withholding

New homes and some other transactions trigger GST withholding. We explain the obligation and make sure the right amount is paid.

Foreign resident capital gains withholding

Where FRCGW applies, we handle the requirements and the documentation needed for settlement.

Deposits and deposit bonds

We advise on deposit requirements, deposit bonds, guarantees and how deposits are held through the transaction.

Early occupation and licence agreements

If a buyer wants to move in before settlement, or a seller needs to stay on after it, we prepare licence agreements that set out exactly what each side can do.

SMSF property purchases

Buying through a Self-Managed Super Fund adds legal and compliance requirements. We work alongside your accountant and adviser to keep the transaction on track.

Why Prepared

Anyone can offer a free review. What matters is what comes back, and who wrote it.

 

Speed

Same-day contract reviews. While others wait on a callback, you are at the next inspection ready to offer.

Expertise

Your contract is reviewed by experienced Australian property lawyers who understand the local property market. In Albert Park that means environmental audit conditions, heritage controls and multi-tier owners corporations, not a generic checklist.

Fixed fee

One price for the conveyancing, published before you commit. No hourly billing, no surprises on the invoice, and no charge at all for the review that got you there.

What it costs

Nothing to have it read. One price if you go ahead.

Most conveyancers charge for a review, or ask you to request a quote before they will tell you anything at all. Here is the whole thing, so you can compare without making a phone call.

Free

Contract and Section 32 review

No charge, no obligation, no limit on how many properties. Back the same business day.

$1,600

Full conveyancing, buying

Incl. GST, fixed. Contract through to PEXA settlement, adjustments and duty lodgement.

$300

Selling, and it does not sell

Professional fees only, plus the cost of any searches already ordered. You are not billed for a settlement that never happened.

Government charges, searches and land transfer duty are payable in addition and are set by the State, not by us. We tell you the total before you instruct.

Start with the free review

Common questions

Is conveyancing different for an inner-city Melbourne apartment?

Yes, in substance rather than in process. Most inner-city dwellings are lots in an owners corporation, so the review concentrates on the owners corporation certificate, the maintenance plan and fund, any special levies, cladding history and building defects, rather than on boundaries, easements and fencing. In a large or mixed-use building there may be more than one owners corporation affecting your lot, and each needs its own certificate.

Which inner Melbourne suburbs still have houses rather than apartments?

None of them are majority houses, but the terrace stock is concentrated in a few. At the 2021 Census, semi-detached, row or terrace houses and townhouses made up 36.1% of occupied private dwellings in Parkville, 26.8% in North Melbourne and 22.5% in East Melbourne. The CBD, Southbank and Docklands are almost entirely apartments, each above 97%.

What does the Victorian off-the-plan duty concession cover?

The temporary concession applies to off-the-plan purchases of strata apartments and townhouses, and it runs to 20 October 2026. It is open to all purchasers, including investors and foreign buyers, though foreign purchaser additional duty continues to apply separately. Because it is a temporary measure with a fixed end date, the timing of your contract matters. Check the position before you sign.

Buying or selling in Inner City & CBD?

Send us the contract. You will get it back reviewed, in plain English, with the issues that matter flagged.

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