Read Time: 3 minutes.
Cross-lease titles can trip up first-home buyers because the property looks just like any other house — but legally, it isn’t.
Instead of owning their section outright, each owner shares ownership of the entire piece of land and then leases their part (the flat) from everyone else.
If the title plan doesn’t match what’s on the ground, this could be a defective title.
This will bring your purchase to a halt.
A buyer will need to cancel the agreement or get the bank to sign off on this issue.
Thousands of homes built between the 1970s and 1990s still sit on cross-lease titles.
The key document is the flats plan, usually tucked at the back of the title.
Extra rooms, enclosed porches, or new decks might exist in reality but not on that plan — a mismatch that can raise questions at resale or refinancing.
Think of a banana cake to explain a cross-lease to a first-home buyer.
Imagine one big banana cake on a plate*.
*Scroll down to the bottom to see our Cake / Flats Plan visual.
Both owners share the same cake — that’s the underlying land.
It isn’t sliced into separate pieces.
The cake stays whole.
We have shown this below in gold.
The Base Icing
Each flat (house) gets its own icing colour.
The icing shapes are drawn on the flats plan — those outlines show which part of the land each person leases.
We have shown this below in green and red.
The Extra Icing
A third icing colour shows exclusive-use areas, like backyards or courtyards.
We have shown this below in blue and purple.
The Plain Sponge
Any part with no icing is a shared area, like the driveway or access path.
Everyone can use it, but no one can claim it as their own.
We have shown this below in orange.
Encourage buyers to do this simple test:
1. Look at the flats plan (the “icing diagram”) vs the Floor Plan on the website listing.
They need to match.
2. Walk around the property and see if the real-world walls and decks match the shapes on the plan.
If the house or deck sticks out past the icing outline, it’s time for the lawyer to check it.
And always include due-diligence condition in the offer.
That’s the safety net allowing your buyer to walk away or request fixes.
Enclosed addition or extra room built onto the house
Title no longer matches the physical layout = Defective Title.
Survey and new flats plan, plus written consent from all co-owners
Deck or shed built on exclusive use area
Need approval under the lease
Usually solved with written consent from all co-owners
