Inner West

Conveyancing across the Inner West.

All six suburbs here sit in Inner West Council under the Inner West LEP 2022, but the detail still changes street by street. A section 10.7 certificate can name a heritage conservation area, a State heritage listing, a flood study, aircraft noise controls in Marrickville, transport oriented development controls around Dulwich Hill station, or WestConnex tunnel lots beneath Leichhardt. The first job in any contract review here is reading what the certificate actually says.

Prepared reviews your contract for sale and the documents attached to it against what the address actually raises: which conservation area and flood catchment the street sits in, what the station and corridor rezonings allow next door, and, for the apartments near the stations, the strata records behind the lot. Our NSW team works from Chippendale, five minutes’ walk from Central.

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Inner West at a glance

Suburbs
6
Council
Inner West Council, under the Inner West LEP 2022
Office
Chippendale, 5 min from Central
Settlement
PEXA

Authorities for the Inner West

Check it yourself

Links to government and third-party sites. We do not control what they publish, and the section 10.7 certificate and the documents attached to the contract for the specific property remain the source of truth.

About the Inner West

The region covers Annandale and Leichhardt north of Parramatta Road and the WestConnex tunnels, and Petersham, Lewisham, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville along the railway and the Hawthorne Canal to the south. Annandale is a planned 1870s grid, laid out on George Johnston’s old estate with Johnston Street widened to 100 feet along the ridge. Petersham’s 1885 station building is on the State Heritage Register. Lewisham’s McGill Street precinct and parts of Marrickville are former industrial land now turning into apartments, and Dulwich Hill station joined the Sydney Metro network on 30 October 2026, linked to the end of the L1 light rail line.

All six suburbs are in Inner West Council, and planning rules come from the Inner West Local Environmental Plan 2022, which carried over controls from the former Leichhardt and Marrickville plans. Next door, Camperdown, Enmore, Glebe, Newtown and Stanmore are covered on our Inner Sydney page.

What the market here means for your contract

The housing changes across a few kilometres. Flats or apartments are the most common type of home in Petersham, Lewisham, Marrickville and Dulwich Hill, where 57.0% of occupied homes were flats or apartments at the 2021 Census, so most buyers there are buying a strata lot. Leichhardt is mostly separate houses, and Annandale is mostly terraces, semi-detached houses and townhouses inside a heritage conservation area.

For a strata lot, the section 184 certificate, by-laws and capital works fund plan matter as much as the contract. For a house or terrace, it is the conservation area controls, any individual heritage listing, the flood catchment and, in Leichhardt, what lies under the land.

Before you sign

In New South Wales you get 5 business days to cool off on an established home, 10 for off the plan, and none at all at auction. If you agree to waive the cooling off period and provide a 66W Certificate then no cooling off applies as well.

That is the whole window, and pulling out during it costs 0.25% of the price. 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 the Inner West

Which conservation area the house sits in

Heritage conservation areas under the Inner West LEP 2022 cover much of the region’s terrace and Federation streets, among them Annandale (C1), Lewisham Estate (C61), Petersham North (C79), Norwood Estate (C80) and South Dulwich Hill (C107), with commercial precinct areas on Marrickville Road and New Canterbury Road. Each has its own key periods and controls, and the 10.7 certificate tells you which applies.

State listings and local heritage items

Some properties are heritage items in their own right. Petersham’s station group is on the State Heritage Register (item 01223), and Amendment No 7 to the Inner West LEP 2022 added items on Macarthur Parade in Dulwich Hill in February 2024. Some local listings in Annandale include interiors, which limits what you can change inside.

Flood catchments, not suburb names

Council plans flooding by catchment. Hawthorne Canal takes in Dulwich Hill, Lewisham and Leichhardt west of Norton Street; Whites Creek covers Leichhardt east of Norton Street and Annandale west of Johnston Street; Johnstons Creek drains the rest of Annandale; and the Marrickville Valley study covers a 7.9 square kilometre catchment draining to the Cooks River. The flood study, not the suburb, decides which controls apply.

Station housing reforms and rezonings

Dulwich Hill has carried the State’s transport oriented development controls since January 2025, Petersham station is nominated under the low and mid rise housing reforms, and Council’s Parramatta Road Corridor planning proposal (PP-2022-1921) covers parts of Leichhardt. These change what can be built next door, and they show up on the certificate.

Tunnels, aircraft noise and former industrial land

Transport for NSW compulsorily acquired subsurface lots beneath Leichhardt for the WestConnex M4-M8 Link in November 2020, parts of Marrickville sit inside Sydney Airport’s aircraft noise contours under clause 6.8 of the Inner West LEP 2022, and Lewisham’s McGill Street precinct is former light industrial land. Each can limit excavation, add building requirements or call for contamination checks.

Get a Free Contract review

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 $1,900 incl. GST fixed.

Either is fine with us.

How we help in the Inner West

Contract for sale reviews

Before you sign anything, we review the contract for sale and explain the terms, special conditions and risks that could affect your purchase.

Prescribed documents and the 10.7 certificate

The documents attached to the contract carry the section 10.7 planning certificate, the title and plan, the sewerage diagram, easements and restrictions, and for strata the scheme documents and by-laws. We explain what they mean 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, strata levies and other adjustments, so nothing is wrong on the day.

Electronic settlement

Land dealings in New South Wales must be lodged electronically, and certificates of title were cancelled in October 2021. We run the whole process securely and keep you informed at each step.

Strata due diligence

Buying an apartment or townhouse means buying into a strata scheme. We review the section 184 certificate, the records, financial statements, by-laws, the capital works fund, maintenance obligations and any known issues.

Easements, covenants and title restrictions

We explain everything affecting the title, including easements, restrictions on the use of land and positive covenants created by a section 88B instrument, caveats, mortgages and other registered interests that could limit what you do with the property.

Transfer duty and land tax clearance

We calculate your duty, check first home buyer concessions, prepare the documents and lodge everything with Revenue NSW, and we obtain the land tax clearance certificate so an unpaid charge on the land does not follow you.

NSW property law advice

NSW has its own legislation and its own processes, from exchange of contracts to 66W certificates. Our NSW team works from our Chippendale office, so you get advice from people who do this every day.

Special conditions and contract drafting

Not every contract for sale is standard. We review and draft special conditions so they protect your interests and match what was actually agreed.

Cooling-off rights

On a NSW private sale, cooling-off is 5 business days from exchange, and withdrawing costs 0.25% of the price. We explain the rights, the deadlines, 66W certificates and the auction 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 the Inner West that means reading the conservation area, flood catchment and station or corridor controls that apply to the lot, and the strata records behind it, 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 review

No obligation, as many properties as you need for your first 90 days, then $49 a review. Back in 4 business hours.

$1,900

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 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

Which council covers the Inner West?

Inner West Council covers all six suburbs on this page: Annandale, Dulwich Hill, Leichhardt, Lewisham, Marrickville and Petersham. Planning rules come from the Inner West Local Environmental Plan 2022, which carried over controls from the former Leichhardt and Marrickville plans. The section 10.7 certificate for the property confirms which controls apply.

Is buying an apartment in the Inner West different from buying a house?

Yes, because you are buying a lot in a strata scheme rather than land on its own title. The section 184 certificate, the by-laws, the capital works fund plan and an inspection of the strata records usually tell you more about the lot than the contract does. Near the stations in Petersham, Lewisham, Marrickville and Dulwich Hill, some buildings are conversions of old industrial structures, so the building’s history and any work orders matter too. For a house or terrace, the conservation area controls and flood catchment do most of the work.

How long is the cooling off period when I buy in Sydney?

5 business days for an established home and 10 business days off the plan. There is no cooling off if you buy at auction, or if you agree to waive it and a section 66W certificate is provided. Before you sign, check the contract has its prescribed documents attached, including the section 10.7 planning certificate, the sewerage diagram, the title documents and, for an apartment, the strata scheme documents and by-laws. If any are missing, you can rescind the contract within 14 days of it being made.

Suburbs we service in the Inner West

North of Parramatta Road

Along the railway and the Hawthorne Canal

Buying or selling in the Inner West?

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

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