For less urgent caveat removal matters (where 55 days or more is an acceptable waiting time for you), the use of a lapsing notice is the ideal method for caveat removal in Victoria. In general, when you issue a lapsing notice to remove a caveat, you will need to allow 55 days for the entire process. For urgent caveat removal please visit our article about caveat removal via the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Lapsing Notice Caveat Removal
To remove a caveat in a non-urgent scenario, we will assist you by applying for a Lapsing Notice. The Lapsing Notice is issued by the Registrar of Titles. In this case the caveator (the person who lodged the caveat on the property) is then informed that they have 30 days to substantiate the caveat’s maintenance. However, we recommend that you allow up to 55 days to complete the entire process.
By issuing a ‘lapsing notice’, you are effectively putting the person (caveator) who lodged the wrongful caveat on notice. They are then informed it will be removed unless they commence court proceedings within the 30 day time period. In this case, the caveator can either take no action and the caveat will then lapse (which occurs in the majority of cases). Alternately they will attempt to substantiate their caveatable interest by initiating court proceedings.
What if the caveator initiates court proceedings?
Initiating court proceedings is expensive, time consuming and has serious cost consequences for the unsuccessful party. A caveator will rarely commence proceedings if they know their caveat to be improper or in any way wrongful. As such, when a Lapsing Notice is served, it only results in court proceedings in a minority of cases.
Please contact us to determine if the caveat held against your title is improper. We will then issue a Lapsing Notice to remove the caveat from your property. We are also ready and waiting to take Supreme Court action should you require urgent removal of a caveat.
