Inner Sydney

Conveyancing in Surry Hills.

Surry Hills is not covered by a single heritage conservation area. 

Sydney LEP 2012 identifies several separate areas across the suburb, among them Bourke Street North (C59), Bourke Street South (C60), Goodlet Street (C63), Little Riley Street (C65) and Reservoir Street and Fosterville (C66), and the City of Sydney's conservation areas review, in effect from 23 January 2026, revised boundaries in several of them.

Within each area the council grades individual buildings as contributory, neutral or detracting, so two buildings on the same block of Crown Street may be subject to different controls. Consequently, whether an address sits in a conservation area, and how its building is graded, is a question for the council's current maps for that address rather than for the suburb name.

Prepared reviews your contract for sale and the documents prescribed to be attached to it against what Surry Hills actually raises. Which conservation area the address falls in, and whether that changed in January 2026. How the building is graded, and what that grading means for the works you have in mind. Which of two flood catchments the street sits in, and what the certificate reports on flood. For a converted factory or warehouse, what the certificate does not say about the former use, and what the strata records do. You get answers you can act on before the cooling off period runs out.

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Surry Hills at a glance

Postcode
2010
Council
City of Sydney
Water utility
Sydney Water
Most common dwelling
Flat or apartment

Authorities for Surry Hills

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 Surry Hills

Surry Hills runs roughly from Elizabeth and Chalmers Streets on its western side, facing Central, east to South Dowling Street, with Cleveland Street along its southern edge and Crown Street as the main street through the middle. The CBD and South East Light Rail runs through the suburb on its way to Moore Park, and the Surry Hills stop sits beside Eddie Ward Park on Devonshire Street. The project was approved as State significant infrastructure on 4 June 2014, and Transport for NSW opened the L2 Randwick Line on 14 December 2019 and the L3 Kingsford Line on 3 April 2020.

Crown Street Reservoir at 285 Crown Street, completed in 1859, is on the State Heritage Register as item 01323, gazetted 18 November 1999, and Heritage NSW describes it as the oldest reservoir in New South Wales still in service. The suburb's terraces date from the 1850s, and it later became the centre of the State's clothing trade, with factory buildings replacing some terrace houses from 1958 after the area was zoned for industry. Council planning reports still record both: contributory terraces, and former warehouses graded as neutral buildings within conservation areas.

What the market here means for your contract

At the 2021 Census, Surry Hills had 15,828 residents in 9,666 private dwellings, with an average household size of 1.8 people. Flats or apartments made up 68.5% of occupied private dwellings, semi-detached houses, row or terrace houses and townhouses 29.1%, and separate houses 1.1%. Of occupied private dwellings, 65.4% were rented, 18.4% owned with a mortgage and 13.8% owned outright, and studios and one bedroom dwellings together accounted for 42.9%.

The practical effect is that a Surry Hills conveyancing file is often a strata file, but nearly three in ten dwellings were terraces or townhouses. For an apartment, the Section 184 certificate, the by-laws, the capital works fund plan and the owners corporation records often provide a more meaningful picture of the rights, obligations and financial exposures associated with the lot than the contract alone. For a terrace, the questions more often turn on the land itself: the conservation area, the building's grading, and the easements and restrictions recorded on the title.

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 Surry Hills

Several conservation areas, not one

Sydney LEP 2012 applies heritage conservation areas by map, and Surry Hills is divided among several of them. City of Sydney planning reports place Surry Hills sites in Bourke Street North (C59), Bourke Street South (C60), Goodlet Street (C63), Little Riley Street (C65) and Reservoir Street and Fosterville (C66). The edges are close: a council report to the Local Planning Panel on 17 March 2021 found 33 to 37 Sophia Street outside any conservation area, with Little Riley Street (C65) on the opposite side of the street. Works to a place in a conservation area may need a development application unless a heritage exemption applies. We check which area, if any, the address falls in rather than assuming from the suburb or the street.

Boundaries that moved in January 2026

The City of Sydney's conservation areas review amended Sydney LEP 2012 and Sydney DCP 2012 with effect from 23 January 2026. The planning proposal Council approved on 25 August 2025 added 12 properties to conservation areas across the City, removed 23 and moved 2 between areas, and its maps listed Bourke Street North (C59), Little Riley Street (C65) and Reservoir Street and Fosterville (C66) among the areas whose boundaries changed. Consequently, a heritage report, building report or listing description prepared before that date may describe a boundary that no longer applies. We check the current maps for the address, not an earlier description of it.

What a building's grading allows

The Sydney DCP 2012 building contributions map grades each building in a conservation area as contributory, neutral or detracting, and the controls differ by grading. Section 3.9.7 provides that contributory buildings are to be retained unless the consent authority determines the replacement is justified in exceptional circumstances, and that alterations and additions must not significantly alter the appearance of principal and significant facades. Section 3.9.8 provides that demolition of a neutral building will only be considered where restoration is not reasonable and the replacement will not compromise the heritage significance of the area. A council report to the Local Planning Panel on 14 August 2024 recorded 598 to 602 Crown Street as neutral and 604 to 610 Crown Street as contributory, side by side. The DCP amendment in effect from 23 January 2026 also provides for solar panels on the principal roof plane of a contributory building to be installed parallel to the pitch of the roof. If you plan to extend, add a level or change a facade, we tell you what the map shows for the building before you sign.

Darling Harbour and Alexandra Canal flooding

The City of Sydney lists Surry Hills in two floodplain catchments. The Darling Harbour catchment, which also takes in Haymarket and parts of Pyrmont and Ultimo, has a floodplain risk management plan adopted by Council in August 2016. The Alexandra Canal catchment, which also covers Redfern, Waterloo and Alexandria, had its plan adopted in March 2014 and a further flood study published in 2020. A council report to the Local Planning Panel on 28 March 2018 recorded indicative flooding depths of up to 600mm at the intersection of Reservoir Street and Beauchamp Lane, and a 2024 report identified a Crown Street site as subject to 1% annual exceedance probability flooding. Flood related development controls are one of the matters a section 10.7 certificate must report under Schedule 2 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021. We read what the certificate says for the address and which catchment study applies.

Former factories and warehouse conversions

UTS research describes Surry Hills as once the centre of the New South Wales rag trade, and records that factory buildings replaced some terrace houses from 1958 after the area was zoned for industry. Council reports still describe former warehouses on Devonshire Street (2017) and Kippax Street (2018), the Devonshire Street pair graded as neutral buildings within Bourke Street South (C60). A section 10.7 certificate reports contamination only in the terms the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 prescribes and does not disclose a former factory use; a 2021 preliminary site investigation for a Sophia Street site recorded former motor garages, dry cleaners and engineering manufacturers nearby. For an apartment in a converted building, we read the strata records for defects and building works as well as the certificate.

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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 Surry Hills

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 Surry Hills that means which conservation area the address falls in after the January 2026 boundary changes, how the building is graded, and which flood catchment the street sits in, 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

Is Surry Hills in a heritage conservation area?

Parts of it are, in several separate areas rather than one. Sydney LEP 2012 conservation areas in Surry Hills include Bourke Street North (C59), Bourke Street South (C60), Goodlet Street (C63), Little Riley Street (C65) and Reservoir Street and Fosterville (C66), and the City of Sydney revised boundaries in several of them with effect from 23 January 2026. Within a conservation area each building is graded as contributory, neutral or detracting on the council's building contributions map. 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.

Is property in Surry Hills affected by flooding?

Some Surry Hills sites are identified by the council as flood prone and others are not, so it depends on the address. The City of Sydney lists Surry Hills in two floodplain catchments: Darling Harbour, whose floodplain risk management plan was adopted in August 2016, and Alexandra Canal, whose plan was adopted in March 2014 with a further flood study in 2020. Flood related development controls are one of the matters a section 10.7 planning certificate must report, so the certificate and the council's flood information for the address are where to look.

Is there a light rail stop in Surry Hills?

Yes. The Surry Hills stop is on Devonshire Street beside Eddie Ward Park, on the CBD and South East Light Rail, which runs through Surry Hills to Moore Park. Transport for NSW opened the L2 Randwick Line on 14 December 2019 and the L3 Kingsford Line on 3 April 2020.

Buying or selling in Surry Hills?

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

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