Inner Sydney

Conveyancing in Rosebery.

When the Town Planning Company of Australia subdivided the Rosebery Estate in 1914, it imposed a covenant that limits each house to a single storey, limits the number of dwellings on a lot and requires a brick or stone front facade. 

In October 2022 the City of Sydney recorded that the NSW Government agreed the State's complying development codes do not override it, so a two storey house or addition in the estate goes through a development application, where Sydney LEP 2012 can set the covenant aside. The City recommends a title search before any works. In Rosebery the title search for a house can matter as much as the planning certificate.

Prepared reviews your contract for sale and the documents prescribed to be attached to it against what Rosebery actually raises. Whether the title search records the 1914 Rosebery covenant, and whether the dealing behind it is attached. How an existing second storey was approved, and whether that pathway was open in the estate. Whether an apartment in North Rosebery sits on a former warehouse site, and what the remediation records and site auditor's documents show. Which council issued the planning certificate, because part of the suburb is in Bayside, and how flood planning is reported in the Alexandra Canal catchment. You get answers you can act on before the cooling off period runs out.

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Rosebery at a glance

Postcode
2018
Council
City of Sydney, with part of the suburb in Bayside Council
Water utility
Sydney Water (confirm by address)
Most common dwelling
Flat or apartment

Authorities for Rosebery

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 Rosebery

Most of Rosebery sits inside Epsom Road to the north, Southern Cross Drive to the east, Gardeners Road to the south and Botany Road to the west, and the City of Sydney's community profile places the rest of the suburb in Bayside Council. There is no railway station inside those roads: Green Square station is on Botany Road in Zetland and Mascot station is in Mascot, both on the T8 Airport line. The estate keeps what a 2020 State planning paper calls its distinct subdivision and predominately single storey scale, while North Rosebery, towards Epsom Road, is where warehouse sites are being rebuilt as apartments. Turruwul Park, bounded by Rothschild and Primrose avenues, Hayes Road and Harcourt Parade, dates from 1926, when Waterloo Council bought lots 481 to 495 of the estate to make a park.

The City of Sydney's park history says Rosebery was built in 1912 by the Town Planning Company of Australia and marketed as Sydney's model and industrial suburb, with larger lots in the north set aside for factories. James Stedman-Henderson's Sweets moved to the estate in 1918, and Minties were first made at its Sweetacres factory on Rothschild Avenue in 1922. Two former warehouses are local heritage items under Sydney LEP 2012: the Paradise Garage at 25 to 27 Dunning Avenue (I1376), and the Moffat Virtue warehouse at 1 to 3 Rosebery Avenue (I1379), listed by Amendment No 7, published 14 February 2014.

What the market here means for your contract

At the 2021 Census, Rosebery had 13,533 residents in 6,621 private dwellings, 5,658 of them occupied. Flats or apartments made up 71.0% of occupied private dwellings, separate houses 23.1%, which was 1,306 homes, and semi-detached houses, row or terrace houses and townhouses 4.8%. Of occupied private dwellings, 50.7% were rented, 26.8% owned with a mortgage and 20.0% owned outright. Two bedroom dwellings were the largest group at 44.8%, followed by three bedroom dwellings at 24.1%.

The practical effect is that a Rosebery file can be one of two quite different things. A house in the estate is a title file first: the title search, the covenant and the approval history of any additions carry the weight, alongside the section 10.7 certificate. An apartment is a strata file, where the section 184 certificate, the by-laws and the owners corporation records matter, and on a converted industrial site so do the remediation and validation records behind the building.

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.

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Local detail

What we check in Rosebery

The 1914 Rosebery covenant on title

A December 2020 paper from the NSW planning department records that the Town Planning Company of Australia, the former owner, imposed the Rosebery Covenant when it subdivided the estate in 1914. The paper says it limits the front facade to brick or stone, limits the number of dwellings on a lot and limits a dwelling to a single storey. The City of Sydney says covenants on the title of properties in the area may prevent some development, and recommends a title search before works. The same paper says enforcing the covenant falls to the residents who benefit from it, not the council. We read the title search for the address, check whether a covenant is recorded, and check that the dealing that created it is attached to the contract as a prescribed document.

How an existing second storey was approved

The State's Housing Code and Low Rise Housing Diversity Code were switched off in the Rosebery Estate from 8 June 2021 to 31 December 2022, and have applied again since 1 January 2023. On 31 October 2022 the City of Sydney recorded that the NSW Government agreed the covenant still applies and the codes do not overrule it, so any two storey development or addition in the estate must be assessed as a development application. The December 2020 department paper says clause 1.9A of Sydney LEP 2012 turns the covenant off for a development application, and that the council had reported at least 11 two storey homes previously completed as complying development. If the house you are buying has a second storey, we look at which approval it was built under and what the contract and certificates show about it.

Special character area, not conservation area

The Rosebery Estate has been treated as a special character area in the City's planning controls since the South Sydney Development Control Plan 1997, and Sydney DCP 2012 carries a locality statement for it. It is not a heritage conservation area: according to the December 2020 department paper, the City resolved in May 2008 that the estate was not suitable for that listing. Individual buildings can still be listed, such as the Paradise Garage warehouse at 25 to 27 Dunning Avenue, local item I1376, and the warehouse at 1 to 3 Rosebery Avenue, item I1379 since Amendment No 7 to Sydney LEP 2012 in February 2014. We read the heritage matters on the section 10.7 certificate for the address rather than assuming the estate's character controls amount to a heritage listing.

Warehouse sites turned apartment buildings

The estate's larger northern lots were set aside for industry, and Sydney LEP 2012 has been amended site by site as that land changes use, including at 12 to 20 Rosebery Avenue in April 2016 and at 12 to 22 and 24 Rothschild Avenue in February 2020. A February 2020 council report on 144 apartments at 5 to 15 Dunning Avenue relied on a 2019 remediation action plan and interim advice from an accredited site auditor. A September 2025 report on 143 units proposed at 12 to 20 Rosebery Avenue records asbestos-containing fill, metals and petroleum products, and an auditor's recommendation for a validation report before an occupation certificate. A section 10.7 certificate reports contamination only in the terms of section 59(2) of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997, so we look for the site audit statement and validation records as well.

Two councils inside one suburb

The City of Sydney's community profile describes the part of Rosebery inside Epsom Road, Southern Cross Drive, Gardeners Road and Botany Road as City of Sydney land, with the remaining part of the suburb in Bayside Council. Bayside determined a development application for 531 Gardeners Road, Rosebery in December 2021, and its land use is governed by the Bayside Local Environmental Plan 2021 rather than Sydney LEP 2012. The covenant, the special character controls and the City's floodplain studies described on this page are City of Sydney material. We check which council issued the section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract, and which plan it names.

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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 Rosebery

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 Rosebery that means reading the 1914 covenant on title, how any second storey was approved, and the remediation records behind a converted warehouse site, 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 is Rosebery in?

Most of Rosebery is in the City of Sydney, and the rest of the suburb is in Bayside Council. The City of Sydney part lies inside Epsom Road, Southern Cross Drive, Gardeners Road and Botany Road and is governed by Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, while Bayside land is governed by the Bayside Local Environmental Plan 2021. The section 10.7 certificate attached to the contract shows which council issued it and which plan applies to the address.

Can I add a second storey to a house in Rosebery?

In the Rosebery Estate, generally not as complying development where the 1914 covenant applies. The City of Sydney recorded in October 2022 that the NSW Government agreed the covenant limiting dwellings to one storey still applies and the State codes do not override it, so two storey work there must go through a development application, which the City says is not subject to covenants. Whether a covenant is recorded for a particular house is shown on its title search. This is general information, not advice on a particular property or project.

Is Rosebery in a heritage conservation area?

The Rosebery Estate is not a heritage conservation area. A December 2020 NSW planning department paper records that the City of Sydney resolved in May 2008 that the estate was not suitable for that listing, and the estate is instead treated as a special character area in the City's planning controls. Some individual buildings in Rosebery are local heritage items under Sydney LEP 2012, and the section 10.7 certificate for an address shows whether a heritage item or conservation area applies to it.

Buying or selling in Rosebery?

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

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