What Is Covenant in Queensland Real Estate? Definition and Agent Guide

Your buyer is under contract on a new residential lot in a master-planned estate near Ripley or Flagstone. The contract contains a covenant schedule that runs to four pages. They’ve skim-read it, noted something about “minimum dwelling size” and moved on. Three weeks later, after signing a building contract for a narrow-frontage design they love, they discover the covenant requires a minimum 200 m² of built form and prohibits certain external cladding materials. The build they’ve paid a designer to draw up doesn’t comply. That’s a covenant problem — and it landed in your deal because nobody walked the buyer through it at the point of sale.

A covenant in Queensland real estate is a restriction or obligation attached to a property that governs how the land can be used or developed. It binds not just the current owner but, in the right circumstances, every future owner of that lot. Covenants are one of the most frequently encountered and least thoroughly explained encumbrances in Queensland property transactions, and for agents dealing in new estates, secondary sales of covenant-bound lots, or any freehold title with a public covenant registered against it, understanding the distinction between types of covenants, how they are created, and how they are enforced is not optional. It is core professional knowledge.

How Covenant Works in Queensland Real Estate

The two fundamental types

Covenants affecting land fall into two broad categories: restrictive covenants and positive covenants. The distinction is a matter of substance, not of labelling. A positive covenant requires an act to be done and money to be expended in relation to the land. Whether a covenant is restrictive or positive in nature is a matter of substance, not form.

A restrictive covenant prohibits something — building above a certain height, using particular materials, subdividing the lot, operating a commercial use from a residential address. A positive covenant requires the owner to do something or spend money — maintain a shared driveway, keep a boundary fence in repair, contribute to the upkeep of shared infrastructure. The legal treatment of these two types differs substantially in Queensland, and agents need to understand why.

A restrictive covenant creates an equitable interest in the land, and not merely a personal contractual right, hence the Courts’ preparedness to enforce restrictive covenants as between successors in title. This matters enormously at resale: a restrictive covenant that was imposed by a developer on the original purchaser may still bind a buyer who acquires the lot ten years later, even though they were not a party to the original transaction. Positive covenants have historically been harder to enforce against subsequent owners, though the legislative landscape has shifted.

Queensland’s unique position on registration

Queensland occupies a distinct position among Australian states when it comes to covenant registration, and agents who’ve come from interstate need to recalibrate their assumptions. Queensland operates uniquely by prohibiting private covenant registration entirely. Section 4 of the Property Law Act 1974 explicitly forbids registration of private restrictive covenants on titles; only public covenants from government authorities can be registered.

This is directly contrasted with New South Wales, which uses Section 88B instruments, or Victoria, where restrictive covenants appear on the title certificate and bind through the Torrens system. In Queensland, private developers must rely on contractual privity and carefully structured building schemes, commonly including clauses requiring purchasers to obtain identical covenants from subsequent transferees. This creates a chain of contractual obligations rather than registered encumbrances.

What this means practically: when agents do a title search on a Queensland lot in a private estate, they will not see the developer’s building covenants appearing as registered interests on the title itself. Unlike in some other States in Australia, in Queensland there is no requirement for, and it is otherwise not possible, to register private covenants on the title of a lot, or lots. There are statutory requirements for instruments creating covenants where the covenantee is the State or the local government — but these are the only circumstances in which you might see a covenant registered on the title of a lot.

Where covenants actually appear

Because private building covenants are not on title, agents need to know where to look. They appear in the contract of sale itself — typically in a schedule or annexure — and in a deed of covenant that buyers sign at or before settlement. Most commonly, a buyer purchasing land in a new estate will discover that the contract contains various developer or building covenants, which the buyer must also assign to, pursuant to a deed of covenant, to any new buyer if the buyer decides to sell that land.

The chain-of-contract mechanism means the covenants travel with each sale through contractual requirement rather than through title registration. Building covenants are usually prepared by a developer in order to maintain visual consistency within a residential estate — for instance, by requiring consistent building materials, roofing styles, or landscaping standards. When a lot within that estate is later sold as an established property rather than as new land, the selling agent must identify whether that chain of obligation still applies and ensure it is disclosed.

What the Property Law Act 2023 changed

The Property Law Act 2023 has been proclaimed and commenced on 1 August 2025. It is the most comprehensive set of changes to Queensland’s property laws in around 50 years since the Property Law Act 1974. Several of those changes relate directly to covenants.

One significant shift concerns covenants embedded in easements. Under the prior law, a covenant in an easement was not reliably enforceable against future landowners unless that owner agreed to be bound. The new provisions confirm that unless the easement specifically confers a covenant to a party personally, both positive and negative covenants contained in registered easements will bind a grantor and the grantee of the easement, and their respective successors in title. This is a retrospective change: section 65 will apply to all easements, regardless of when the easement was entered into or registered.

For lease covenants, the new Act also abolished the old “touch and concern” test. All covenants — other than covenants expressed to be personal — are enforceable after an assignment of a lease by the tenant or a sale of the reversion by the landlord, and not just covenants that touch and concern the land. This has significant implications for agents managing commercial property transactions and lease assignments.

Why Covenant Matters for Queensland Agents

The new estate market

Queensland’s greenfield residential market — from the Moreton Bay growth corridor to the Western Corridor through Ipswich, down to the northern Gold Coast — is covenant-heavy. Developers impose building covenants to protect the streetscape and maintain the value of unsold stock. These covenants routinely dictate minimum floor areas, approved external materials, roof pitch, fence styles, prohibited vehicle types, and setback requirements. Some are broad. Some are extraordinarily specific.

For agents selling land in these estates, the covenant schedule is a selling tool as much as a legal obligation. Buyers in premium master-planned estates are often paying for the certainty those covenants provide — the knowledge that no neighbour can build a fibro shed or park a semi-trailer on the verge. Enforceable covenants ensure a consistent aesthetic and functionality within an area, potentially enhancing property values. That’s a legitimate feature of the product, and communicating it clearly is part of the agent’s role.

Equally, when a buyer is purchasing an established home within a covenant-bound estate, they need to know if any previous work on the property was carried out in breach of the covenant. A unapproved addition using non-compliant materials, or a garage conversion that breaches the minimum dwelling configuration, can affect insurability, future development approvals, and the next sale down the line.

Enforcement and what a breach looks like

If a covenant is registered on the title, it is legally binding. Breaching a covenant can lead to enforcement action from other property owners, developers, or local council — sometimes including court orders or damages. For private covenants operating through contract in Queensland, enforcement is a matter between the original parties and, under a properly structured building scheme, among lot owners who share the benefit of the restrictions.

The enforceability question is where Queensland’s unique framework creates real complexity. Whether a covenant is enforceable in equity will depend on the characterisation of the covenant as either positive or negative (also known as a restrictive covenant) and the satisfaction of a number of equitable conditions — for example, that the restrictive covenant “touches and concerns” the land in question. When those conditions aren’t met — when the building scheme hasn’t been correctly constituted, or when the chain of contractual assignment has broken — the developer or neighbouring lot owners may have limited practical recourse. Agents aren’t expected to adjudicate these questions, but they need to recognise when a buyer should be told to seek legal advice before proceeding.

Restrictive covenants may be modified or extinguished by equity declining to enforce them, by agreement between those entitled to the land benefited and the land burdened, or by court order in the exercise of a statutory power. In Queensland, the Supreme Court is empowered to modify or extinguish restrictive covenants pursuant to section 181 of the Property Law Act. The Property Law Act 2023 carries a corresponding power. This process is not quick or cheap, and it is not something a buyer or seller can navigate without legal representation.

Market context: resales and covenant compliance

One of the more complex situations agents encounter is the resale of a lot in a covenant-bound estate where the original build was completed under the covenant, but subsequent modifications may not have been. Extensions, pergolas, external colour changes, granny flat additions — all of these can fall within covenant restrictions, and a failure to check before listing creates exposure.

For developers, Queensland’s system could mean covenant enforcement weakens over time as contractual chains break, but also means less certainty about restrictions when purchasing properties. For agents, that uncertainty translates into a due diligence obligation at listing. If a property sits within a covenant-affected estate, the listing agent should confirm whether the covenant deed is available, whether it has been assigned through each title change, and whether there are any known breaches — and should direct the seller to their conveyancer or solicitor if they cannot answer those questions with confidence.

Common Mistakes Queensland Agents Make with Covenants

Assuming the title search tells the whole story

The single most common error is conflating a clean title search with a property free of restrictions. As already explained, private building covenants in Queensland are not registrable. A title search that shows no encumbrances does not mean no covenants exist. Before purchasing or developing property in Queensland, check for covenants by requesting a title search through the Queensland Titles Registry — but information about covenants and other restrictions is typically included in the contract of sale or available through property searches. The contract documentation — including schedules, annexures, and any deed of covenant — must be reviewed separately.

When taking a new listing in a master-planned estate, ask the vendor directly: is there a covenant schedule on this property? Do they still have the original deed of covenant? Did they receive one on purchase? If the vendor cannot produce it, the agent should request a copy from the developer or estate manager before marketing begins, and certainly before a contract is issued to any buyer.

Treating covenant disclosure as the conveyancer’s job

Under Queensland’s new seller disclosure regime, which commenced on 1 August 2025 under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), disclosure obligations include disclosing all registered encumbrances — like mortgages, easements, or covenants — and, crucially, any unregistered interests that could impact the buyer’s use of the land. The Seller Disclosure Statement (Form 2) must be provided to the buyer before they sign the contract.

The consequences of failing to meet the new disclosure obligations are severe and heavily favour the buyer. A seller’s failure to comply can give the buyer the right to terminate the contract at any time before settlement if the seller fails to provide the disclosure statement or any prescribed certificate before the buyer signs, or if the provided documents are inaccurate or incomplete in relation to a “material matter” — defined as an issue that, had the buyer known the true state of affairs, would have caused them not to sign the contract.

Agents are not responsible for completing the Form 2 — that is the seller’s obligation and should be prepared with the involvement of a conveyancer or solicitor. However, agents are responsible for ensuring the process is initiated early enough, and for bringing known covenant information to the seller’s attention so it can be accurately disclosed. Leaving covenant disclosure to the last minute before exchange is a risk-management failure, not just a process gap. Sellers should prepare early to avoid delays and ensure all required certificates are ready before listing the property or setting an auction date.

Confusing covenants with planning permissions

This is an error that surfaces most often with clients from interstate. A property can comply fully with local government planning requirements — zoning, building approvals, development conditions — and still be in breach of a private building covenant. The two operate independently. Under section 107 of the Planning Act, a covenant entered into in connection with a development application is of no effect unless it is required under a development condition or an infrastructure agreement. A covenant may not impose an obligation that is contrary to other legislation. But the reverse also applies: a planning approval does not override a covenant.

Buyers who receive development approval for a dual-occupancy or an extension may find that the covenant prohibits it entirely. Queensland doesn’t have the same interplay between planning permits and covenants that Victoria does, but the principle — that planning approval and covenant compliance are separate matters — is identical. Agents should ensure buyers understand they need to check both.

Failing to pass on the covenant at resale

A buyer purchasing land in a new estate will discover that the contract contains various developer or building covenants, which the buyer must also assign to any new buyer if the buyer decides to sell that land, pursuant to a deed of covenant. When an agent lists a property in a covenant-bound estate and fails to identify this assignment obligation, the vendor may settle a contract without having passed on the covenant — which can create liability for both vendor and agent.

The obligation to pass on a covenant isn’t automatic, and it isn’t managed by the Titles Registry. It is managed through the contract of sale. If the vendor’s conveyancer doesn’t know to include it, and the agent hasn’t flagged it, the obligation can fall through the cracks.

What Queensland Agents Need to Know About Covenant

Identifying whether a property is covenant-affected

Start at the contract history. If the property is in a relatively recent residential estate — particularly any greenfield development built within the last 20–30 years — a covenant schedule is highly likely. The original contract of sale, which the vendor may have filed away or provided to their lender, is the primary source. Failing that, the developer or the estate body may hold copies of covenant schedules.

For public covenants — those in favour of the State or a local government, registered on title — a standard title search through the Queensland Titles Registry will reveal them. There are statutory requirements for instruments creating covenants where the covenantee is the State or the local government. For such public covenants, the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) requires the instrument creating the covenant to include a description sufficient to identify the land including a description of the covenant itself. These are less common in standard residential transactions but appear regularly in development and commercial contexts.

Reading a covenant schedule

When a covenant schedule is available, agents should be able to identify the key restrictions so they can discuss them intelligently with buyers. The most common provisions in Queensland residential building covenants include:

• Minimum dwelling size (expressed in square metres of internal floor area)
• Approved and prohibited external cladding and roofing materials
• Minimum set-back requirements in excess of council requirements
• Restrictions on outbuildings, sheds, or structures other than the primary dwelling
• Time limits for completing construction after the lot is settled
• Restrictions on on-site vehicles, commercial use, or the keeping of animals
• Requirements to pass the covenant on to any subsequent purchaser

Examples of ‘use’ covenants that are in compliance with Queensland legislation include: that the lot is to be used only for the purpose of construction of buildings used for the development of technology; or that the lot is to be used only for the purpose of construction of water-sensitive residential housing. Conversely, a subsection of the legislation identifies ‘use’ covenants which are not allowed — including the regulation of the conduct of the owner of a lot or land that is unrelated to, or is ancillary to, use of the lot or land.

Directing buyers and sellers to legal advice

Agents are not in a position to advise clients on the legal enforceability of a covenant, whether a proposed build or alteration complies with it, or whether it can be modified or extinguished. These are legal questions. The law on covenants and enforceability of restrictive covenants is complex and full of technicalities and traps. If a client wishes to enforce or deny the enforceability of a covenant, or wishes to seek to modify or extinguish a covenant by court order, they need to speak to an experienced lawyer in property law and commercial litigation.

What agents are responsible for is flagging the issue early, communicating clearly that the covenant exists, ensuring it is captured in the disclosure documentation, and directing buyers and sellers to qualified legal advice before they act on any assumption about what the covenant does or does not permit.

The covenant chain at resale

When acting on the resale of an established property within a covenant-bound estate, the agent’s checklist should include: confirming the covenant details with the vendor; ensuring the selling contract incorporates an obligation on the buyer to execute a new deed of covenant at settlement; confirming with the vendor’s conveyancer that the assignment mechanism is correctly drafted; and including the covenant schedule as part of the disclosure package.

Under the seller disclosure statement, title and encumbrances information — including details about easements, mortgages, covenants, or leases that affect the title — must be disclosed. This applies equally to contracts for new lots and resale properties. A covenant that isn’t disclosed before contract signing is a material omission that can give the buyer termination rights all the way up to settlement.

What This Means for Queensland Agents

Covenant in Queensland real estate is not a theoretical concept — it is a day-to-day transactional reality for any agent operating in new estates, master-planned communities, or secondary markets for covenant-affected lots. The Queensland system is structurally different from every other Australian state: private covenants are not registrable on title, so they will not appear in a standard title search, and they travel through chains of contractual obligation rather than through the Torrens system.

The Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), operative from 1 August 2025, has elevated covenant disclosure to a formal statutory requirement. Under the new seller disclosure regime, any easement, covenant or other encumbrance affecting the property — registered or unregistered — must be disclosed in the Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement before a buyer signs a contract. Failure to disclose a material matter gives the buyer the right to terminate at any time before settlement, with a full deposit refund and no compensation available to the seller. That consequence is severe enough to warrant treating covenant disclosure as a primary listing obligation, not an afterthought.

Practically: when you take a listing in a residential estate built within the last three decades, assume a covenant exists until you confirm otherwise. Get the covenant schedule from the vendor early. Flag it to the seller’s conveyancer before marketing commences. Make sure it is included in the disclosure package. When you present an offer, make sure the buyer has been told the covenant exists and has been directed to their solicitor to understand what it means for their intended use or build.

For agents presenting properties to interstate or international buyers, the communication obligation is higher still. Buyers from Victoria or New South Wales are accustomed to covenants appearing on title; the Queensland system, where restrictions are embedded in contracts rather than registered on title, is genuinely unfamiliar territory. A clear, plain-English explanation of how building covenants work in Queensland — including the obligation to pass them on at resale — is a professional service that reduces disputes, protects your clients, and protects your licence.