Property 101: NSW LPI new registration and titling pricing

Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet announced yesterday a simpler, more equitable pricing scheme for Land and Property Information’s (LPI) registration and titling services, delivering on the NSW Government’s commitment in 2015 to review LPI’s pricing framework to improve transparency.

Mr Perrottet said the old framework was outdated and overly complex, while the new framework removes pricing inconsistencies that had built up over time.

“This reform delivers a more transparent framework that will make dealing with LPI simpler for everyone, from new home buyers to the legal and property professionals who deal with the LPI every day,” Mr Perrottet said.

“It’s a reform that makes sense, adjusting the current framework to make it more user friendly and easier to regulate, while also making sure LPI’s product pricing is more equitable for customers,” he said.

Changes introduced under the new framework include:

•  Consistent pricing for core document lodgments, more than halving the number of different price points for LPI services (from 44 to 20).
•  A much simpler fee for plan lodgments, to be priced on a flat per-lot basis.
• The introduction of requisition fees to ensure practitioners lodge quality-assured documents, reducing the need for costly resubmission of amended lodgments.
• LPI ceasing to operate as an online retailer of title search products, with existing private-sector information brokers already servicing 91% of the market.

The impact of the reforms on existing product prices will vary, however the new framework is designed to remain revenue-neutral to Government overall, with NSW to remain one of the cheapest jurisdictions in Australia for core land titling transactions.

Among the price changes, titling charges on new home purchases will decrease by up to $61, while mortgage refinance charges will increase by up to $53.  Plan lodgment charges for subdivisions of 9 lots or more will increase, but will be lower for subdivisions of 8 lots or less (which make up more than 90% of subdivisions).

The new pricing framework takes effect from 1 July 2016, with LPI to delay applying the new requisition fee until 1 January 2017 to allow practitioners sufficient time to adjust.

Further information on LPI’s new pricing framework is available at www.lpi.nsw.gov.au.