Most Queensland property buyers know about restrictive covenants—the title conditions that stop you from running a business out of your home or building a second dwelling without approval. But far fewer buyers understand positive covenants, which do the opposite: they legally compel a landowner to do something, spend money, or maintain infrastructure.
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Positive covenants are increasingly common on newer Queensland titles, particularly in master-planned communities, infrastructure-adjacent lots, and subdivisions where shared obligations need to run permanently with the land. If you buy a property subject to a positive covenant without understanding its implications, you may inherit significant and ongoing financial obligations.
What Is a Positive Covenant?
A positive covenant is a registered obligation on a property title that requires the landowner to actively perform a task or bear a cost. Unlike a restrictive covenant (which says "you must not do X"), a positive covenant says "you must do X" or "you must pay for X."
Common examples in Queensland include:
- Maintenance obligations for shared infrastructure — requiring a lot owner to maintain a shared retaining wall, stormwater detention system, or access road at their own expense
- Fencing obligations — requiring construction and ongoing maintenance of fencing to a specified standard (common on lots adjacent to rural land, motorways, or railways)
- Weed and pest control — particularly on rural-residential and lifestyle blocks in areas subject to declared plants or pests
- Building and maintenance of structures — for example, a covenant requiring the landowner to maintain a fire separation wall or a boundary wall in a shared-wall development
- Contribution to ongoing estate costs — requiring payment of a proportional share of costs for maintaining private roads, landscaping, or security infrastructure in a gated community
In Queensland, positive covenants are created and registered under the Property Law Act 1974 and the Land Title Act 1994. Once registered, they bind every future owner of the lot—they run with the land, not just with the person who signed the original agreement.
How Positive Covenants Appear on Title
A current title search ($74.50) will show a positive covenant as an encumbrance in the dealings section of the title. You will see a dealing number, a dealing type (often listed as "Positive Covenant" or "PC"), and the lot or lots that benefit from or are burdened by the obligation.
Critically, the title search alone will not tell you what the covenant requires. To understand the full extent of the obligation, you must obtain the registered dealing instrument ($91.80) associated with the positive covenant dealing number. This document sets out:
- The precise obligation and its scope
- Which lots are burdened and which benefit
- How costs are to be calculated and shared (if applicable)
- Dispute resolution mechanisms
- Any time limits or triggering conditions
Positive Covenants vs Restrictive Covenants: Key Differences
| Feature | Positive Covenant | Restrictive Covenant |
|---|---|---|
| What it requires | Action or expenditure | Restraint or prohibition |
| Financial implication | Often involves ongoing costs | Generally limits use only |
| Registered on title | Yes | Yes |
| Binds future owners | Yes | Yes |
| Can be discharged | With agreement of benefited party | With agreement or court order |
| Common in newer estates | Yes, increasingly so | Very common in all estates |
Both types run with the land and are enforceable against any future owner. Both require a title search to detect and dealing instruments to fully understand.
Positive Covenants in Master-Planned Estates
Queensland's growth corridors—Flagstone, Ripley Valley, Harmony, Elara, and similar master-planned communities—frequently use positive covenants to govern shared infrastructure and estate amenity. In these estates, a positive covenant might require you to:
- Maintain landscaping within your lot to estate standard
- Contribute to a maintenance fund for shared recreation facilities
- Maintain and repair your section of a shared retaining wall system
- Comply with an estate design code that imposes both restrictions and obligations
When purchasing in a master-planned estate, it is critical to obtain and read all positive covenant dealing instruments before contract. These obligations can represent thousands of dollars in annual costs that are not immediately obvious from the title summary alone.
Positive Covenants for Infrastructure-Adjacent Properties
Properties abutting motorways, railways, high-voltage transmission lines, and major waterways in Queensland sometimes carry positive covenants requiring the landowner to:
- Maintain noise attenuation fencing at their cost
- Contribute to maintenance of shared bunding or levee systems
- Maintain vegetated buffers or habitat corridors
- Manage stormwater detention on private land for public benefit
These obligations are imposed by infrastructure agencies and local governments as conditions of subdivision approval. They run permanently with the title and cannot be easily removed.
Can You Remove a Positive Covenant?
Discharging a positive covenant in Queensland requires the consent of the benefited party—typically a neighbouring lot owner, a government body, or an infrastructure provider. The process involves:
- Identifying the benefited lots and contacting their owners
- Negotiating a deed of release (often requiring payment)
- Lodging a request for removal with the Queensland Land Registry
In practice, positive covenants in favour of government bodies or infrastructure providers are extremely difficult to discharge. Buyers should assume they are permanent obligations and factor them into purchase decisions accordingly.
What Buyers Must Do Before Signing
Before exchanging contracts on any Queensland property, follow this process for positive covenants:
- Order a current title search ($74.50) — check the dealings section for any positive covenant entries
- Obtain all dealing instruments ($91.80 each) — read every positive covenant document to understand your obligations
- Check survey plans ($85.90) — the survey may show shared infrastructure (walls, detention basins, access ways) that covenants relate to
- Ask your conveyancer — request a written summary of all positive covenant obligations and their estimated annual cost
- Review estate documentation — for master-planned estates, obtain the estate design guidelines and any Precinct Master Plan that accompanies the positive covenants
If a vendor is unable to provide dealing instruments for registered positive covenants, obtain them directly via a title search service before proceeding.
Positive Covenants and Property Value
A well-understood positive covenant is manageable. An unexpected one—discovered after settlement—can be financially devastating. Property buyers have sought to rescind contracts where undisclosed positive covenants imposed material obligations, but court remedies are uncertain and expensive.
For investors, positive covenants affecting rental properties create ongoing obligations that must be built into cash flow models. A retaining wall maintenance covenant on a hillside lot, for example, could represent a significant unplanned capital expenditure.
How TitleFinder Can Help
TitleFinder provides fast, accurate Queensland title searches that reveal all registered positive covenants, restrictive covenants, easements, and other encumbrances on your target property. Our searches include:
- Current Title Search — $74.50: Identifies all registered encumbrances including positive covenants
- Dealing Instrument — $91.80: The full text of each positive covenant, letting you understand exactly what the obligation requires
- Survey Plan — $85.90: Shows the physical context of covenanted infrastructure and boundaries
Understanding what is registered on your Queensland property title before you buy is the foundation of smart property due diligence. Order your title search today and know exactly what you are committing to.