Easements, caveats, body corporate, co-ownership and the disputes that fall beyond a standard conveyance. Plain-English advice and a written framework before any work begins.
Fraser Lawyers' property law practice acts on the issues that fall beyond a standard residential or commercial conveyance: easements, caveats, body corporate and community management questions, co-ownership disputes, and contested settlements. Work runs across the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) and the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld). The principal is Blake Fraser, admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2013, and every engagement begins with a written costs framework and plain-English advice before any work is done.
Property files break into four streams beyond the standard conveyance. Most matters touch more than one of them; the order below is roughly how often the work comes up.
Creating, varying or extinguishing easements over land, including rights of carriageway, drainage, services and access. Work runs from negotiating terms with the burdened or benefited owner through to registration with Titles Queensland under the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld).
Lodging caveats to protect a caveatable interest in land, defending caveats against lapsing notices, and applying to the Supreme Court for removal where there is no caveatable interest. We act for both caveators and registered owners.
By-law disputes, contribution recoveries, common-property issues, lot entitlement reviews, and decisions made at general meetings. We run matters before the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management and, on appeal, in QCAT.
Statutory trusts for sale or partition under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) where co-owners cannot agree, plus dividing-fence and overhanging-tree applications under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld). Encroachment claims where buildings cross title boundaries.
Property law in Queensland rests on a small set of state statutes. Below is the legislation that comes up most often, with a short note on what each one does.
The principal Queensland statute for property law. Covers easements, covenants, mortgages, leases, co-ownership, statutory trusts for sale, encroachment, and the doctrine of part performance. Replaced the Property Law Act 1974 from 1 August 2025; anything older needs to be checked against the new Act.
Establishes the Torrens title system in Queensland: registration of interests, indefeasibility of title, the Land Title Practice Manual, and the procedures of the Registrar of Titles. The administrative backbone of every land transaction.
Governs strata, community-title and group-title schemes in Queensland: by-laws, contributions, lot entitlements, and dispute resolution through the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management. The framework that applies the moment you own a lot in a scheme.
Sets the rules for dividing fences and overhanging trees between neighbouring properties: liability for repair, contribution to costs, and applications to QCAT for orders. The first port of call for boundary-related disputes.
Specific protections for off-the-plan and proposed-lot purchasers: disclosure obligations, deposit handling, and sunset-clause rules. Always relevant where the contract pre-dates registration of the survey plan.
The procedural framework for civil litigation in the Queensland courts, including disputes over land. Sets filing, service, pleadings, disclosure, applications, trial procedure and appeals.
Governs how solicitors in Queensland may practice, including the requirement under section 308 to provide a written costs disclosure before any work begins. We comply with it on every engagement.
No surprise fees, no jargon, no chasing for updates. The four-step process below applies whether the work is a caveat to be lodged, a body corporate dispute, or a co-ownership matter headed for the Supreme Court.
You call or email a short outline of the matter. We confirm whether we can act and check for any conflict.
An appointment in person, by phone or video. We listen, ask the questions we need to, and identify the issues.
We set out the options, the realistic timeframe and the costs. You decide what to do; we put it in writing so it is clear.
We act. You hear from us at every step that matters, in plain English, and never have to chase for an update.
Plain-English answers to the practical questions clients tend to ask before booking an appointment. If your question is not here, call us.
Get in touchConveyancing is the transaction work: getting a contract signed, exchanged and settled. Property law is everything else. The work that happens before the transaction (subdivision, easement creation), during the transaction when something goes wrong (rescission, contested deposits, requisitions), and after settlement (boundary disputes, body corporate problems, co-owners falling out). Most files start as one and move into the other.
A caveat is lodged with Titles Queensland and prevents most dealings with the property until removed. To lodge it, you need a caveatable interest, typically a contract of sale, an unregistered mortgage, or an equitable claim, and you must support the caveat with a written statement of grounds. To remove a caveat, the caveator can withdraw it voluntarily, the registered owner can apply for a lapsing notice (which gives the caveator 14 days to start court proceedings to maintain it), or the Supreme Court can order removal. We act on either side.
It depends what was built and where. A dividing fence in the wrong place is dealt with under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld). The parties try to agree, then either side can apply to QCAT for orders. Encroachment by a building is more involved and may need an order under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), which can require removal, payment of compensation, or transfer of the encroached land to the encroacher. We assess what is built, what the title says, and what the realistic options are.
Yes, in most cases. A co-owner can apply to the Supreme Court for a statutory trust for sale or partition under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld). The court has wide discretion: it can order sale, division of the land, or compensation. Negotiation usually settles the matter before that point, but the application is the leverage that makes negotiation move.
Disputes within community-title schemes go first to the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management for adjudication, before any court process. The Commissioner's office handles by-law disputes, contribution disputes, common-property issues, and many decisions made at general meetings. We help frame the application, gather the supporting material, and where the matter is appealed up to QCAT, run the proceedings.
We will tell you the fee for the initial consultation when you book. If we agree to act for you, we provide a written costs disclosure as required by the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), setting out the estimate, the basis on which fees are calculated, and any expected disbursements before we begin work.
An initial call or email is the fastest way to know whether we can help and what the next step looks like. We answer the phone Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00. After hours, we call back the next business day.
Five minutes from Surfers Paradise, ten from Robina. On-site parking. Talk to us about your matter; we will tell you what we think and what the next step is.