Inner Sydney

Conveyancing in Redfern.

Most of Redfern is regulated by Sydney LEP 2012. 

A notable exception is the group of former Redfern-Waterloo Authority sites near Redfern station, first placed under a State planning policy in 2006 and now governed by the State planning policy for Eastern Harbour City precincts. Consequently, a section 10.7 planning certificate for an address on one of those sites may identify that State policy as the applicable planning instrument, and the Minister, not the council, is the consent authority for larger development there.

Prepared reviews your contract for sale and the documents prescribed to be attached to it against what Redfern actually raises. Whether the section 10.7 certificate names the State precinct policy or Sydney LEP 2012. Whether the building's consent sits with the State or the council. The conservation area and flood catchment behind a terrace, and the strata records behind an apartment. Whether a tenant is in place and what the contract says about vacant possession. You get answers you can act on before the cooling off period runs out.

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Redfern at a glance

Postcode
2016
Council
City of Sydney
Water utility
Sydney Water (confirm by address)
Most common dwelling
Flat or apartment

Authorities for Redfern

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 Redfern

Redfern station fronts Lawson Street. Its new southern concourse, opened on 8 October 2023, added six lifts, stair access to platforms 1 to 10 and barrier-free entrances from Little Eveleigh Street and Marian Street, with a pedestrian bridge towards Carriageworks and South Eveleigh. Regent Street sits at the northern end of the City of Sydney's Botany Road precinct, and the council's July 2021 planning proposal for that precinct describes Gibbons Street as a one-way north-south street of residential flat buildings.

Redfern Park and Oval, bounded by Redfern, Elizabeth, Phillip and Chalmers Streets, is on the State Heritage Register as item 02016, gazetted on 21 September 2018. The park was proclaimed in November 1885, Prime Minister Paul Keating gave the Redfern Speech there in 1992, and the oval is home to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. On Eveleigh Street, the Aboriginal Housing Company's Pemulwuy Project on the Block received concept approval on 30 June 2009, with 62 affordable dwellings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in its first precinct.

What the market here means for your contract

At the 2021 Census, Redfern had 13,072 residents in 5,889 occupied private dwellings, with an average household size of 1.9 people. Flats or apartments made up 68.1% of occupied private dwellings, semi-detached houses, row or terrace houses and townhouses 28.6%, and separate houses 1.4%. Of occupied private dwellings, 61.9% were rented, 20.4% owned with a mortgage and 14.7% owned outright. Two bedroom dwellings were the largest group, at 42.8%.

The practical effect is that a Redfern file is often a strata file, but more than one home in four is a terrace or townhouse, so it can be a quite different file. For an apartment, the key due-diligence issues usually lie in the section 184 certificate, the by-laws, the capital works fund and the owners corporation records. For a terrace, they more often lie in the section 10.7 certificate, the heritage conservation area and building contributions maps, and the title and plan, which may identify easements or restrictions affecting the land. With six in ten homes rented in 2021, many contracts here are also signed with a tenant in place.

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. 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 Redfern

A State policy near the station

The City of Sydney's map of planning controls treats the former Redfern-Waterloo Authority sites as a separate area, with the State planning policy for Eastern Harbour City precincts listed as the planning control and Infrastructure NSW as the contact for planning control information. Those sites were brought under State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Projects) 2005 by Amendment No 7, gazetted on 30 August 2006, which as made provided that other environmental planning instruments, apart from State policies, do not apply to them. The boundary can move: the rezoning of the Paint Shop sub-precinct at Redfern North Eveleigh, south west of the station, commenced on 15 December 2023 through an amendment to Sydney LEP 2012. We read which instruments the section 10.7 certificate for the address names, and the date it was issued, rather than assuming the council's plan applies.

Approvals that sit with the State

On the Redfern-Waterloo Authority sites, the City of Sydney states that the Planning Minister is the consent authority for development above a capital investment value threshold, and that the council determines smaller applications there under ministerial delegation. A July 2021 council planning proposal described those sites as carrying floor space ratios of up to 7:1 and heights of up to 18 storeys. Several buildings near the station were approved at State level: the NSW Planning Portal records a mixed use development at 7-9 Gibbons Street approved on 22 October 2010, and State significant development SSD-6724 at 60-78 Regent Street approved on 25 August 2015 and modified three times since. For an apartment in a building like these, the consent, its conditions and its modifications may be found on the State's major projects register rather than in the council's records, so we look in both.

Terraces in the Redfern Estate conservation area

City of Sydney planning documents identify the C56 Redfern Estate Conservation Area under Sydney LEP 2012, and at the 2021 Census 28.6% of Redfern's occupied dwellings were terraces, semi-detached houses or townhouses. Within a conservation area, the council's building contributions map under the Sydney Development Control Plan 2012 shows how each building contributes to the area's character. Conservation areas and heritage items are applied by map, not by street, so whether a particular terrace is affected is a question for the section 10.7 certificate and the council's heritage and building contributions maps for that address. We check both before you plan works to the front of a terrace.

Alexandra Canal and Blackwattle Bay flooding

The City of Sydney places Redfern in the Alexandra Canal catchment, whose floodplain risk management plan the council adopted in March 2014, and places parts of Redfern in the Blackwattle Bay catchment, whose plan was adopted in May 2015. Which study is relevant depends on where the address sits. Flood planning is applied by map, and the section 10.7 certificate for the address may identify flood related development controls. We read the certificate alongside the study for the right catchment rather than assuming one answer for the whole suburb.

Buying a home with a tenant

At the 2021 Census, 61.9% of Redfern's occupied private dwellings were rented, so many contracts here are for a property with a tenant in it. Since 19 May 2025, NSW law limits the reasons a landlord can give to end a tenancy, and a sale is one of them only where the contract for sale requires vacant possession, supported by a copy of the contract or a written statement from the solicitor or conveyancer acting on the sale. The notice period depends on the type and length of the tenancy. If you need the property empty at settlement, we check that the contract says so and that the dates leave room for notice to run; if you are buying as an investor, we check the lease you are taking on.

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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 $1,900 incl. GST fixed.

Either is fine with us.

How we help in Redfern

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, 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.

See everything we handle across Inner Sydney

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 Redfern that means which planning instrument the certificate names near the station, where a building's approvals actually sit, and the conservation area and flood catchment behind a terrace, 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 planning rules apply around Redfern station?

It depends on the address. Most of Redfern is regulated by Sydney LEP 2012, but the City of Sydney lists the former Redfern-Waterloo Authority sites near the station as governed by the State planning policy for Eastern Harbour City precincts, with the Planning Minister as consent authority for larger development. The section 10.7 planning certificate for the address names the planning instruments that apply to it.

Is Redfern in a heritage conservation area?

Parts of it are. City of Sydney planning documents identify the C56 Redfern Estate Conservation Area under Sydney LEP 2012, and within a conservation area the council's building contributions map shows how each building contributes to the area's character. Conservation areas are applied by map, not by suburb, so whether a particular address is affected is a question for the section 10.7 certificate and the council's maps for that address.

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

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.

Buying or selling in Redfern?

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

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