The Settlement Process in QLD: What Happens From Contract to Keys
The settlement process in QLD is the final stage of a purchase, when you pay the rest of the price, the title passes to you and you get the keys. Settlement is usually 4–6 weeks after the contract is finalised, and almost all Queensland settlements are completed within 30 to 90 days.[1]
This guide follows a purchase from the day the contract is signed to the day after settlement: what happens in the settlement period, the pre-settlement inspection, how rates and other costs are adjusted, how electronic settlement works on the day, what happens if settlement is delayed, and what to do once the home is yours. It is based on the standard REIQ/QLS residential contract; check your own contract with your solicitor.
Key takeaways
- Settlement is usually 4–6 weeks after the contract, and the date is in your contract.
- Under the standard contract, settlement happens electronically and must be completed by 4pm on the settlement date.
- Rates and similar charges are split so the seller pays up to and including settlement day and you pay from the day after.
- You get one pre-settlement inspection; book it close to the day.
- Time is of the essence. A party who cannot settle on time risks being in default, unless the date is extended under the contract.
How long settlement takes in Queensland
The Queensland Government says settlement is usually 4–6 weeks after the contract is finalised, but it can be whatever length of time you negotiate with the seller, and almost all settlements are completed within 30 to 90 days.[1] The settlement date is written into the contract’s reference schedule, often as a number of days from the contract date. The schedule itself warns that the date as stated may change, and tells you to get legal advice before signing if you need settlement on a particular day.[2]
Choose the period with your lender and your move in mind. A short settlement can make an offer more attractive to a seller who wants certainty, but only if your finance and your solicitor can keep up. A long one can suit you if you are selling first or your lease has weeks to run. Our guide to buying a house in QLD shows where settlement fits in the 12 steps of a purchase.
What happens between contract and settlement
Most of the work in the settlement period is done by your solicitor or conveyancer and your lender, but several steps need you.
- Insure the home. Under the standard contract the property is at your risk from 5pm on the first business day after the contract date, long before settlement.[2]
- Clear the conditions. Give notice on finance and building and pest by 5pm on their dates. Our guide to the contract of sale in QLD explains how those notices work.
- Sign the loan documents. Return them to your lender promptly, so the loan is ready to fund on the day.
- Transfer duty. If your solicitor lodges as a self assessor, they lodge within 30 days of the liability date, which is usually the contract date, and the duty must be paid within 14 days after that.[3] Our property purchase calculator estimates the amount.
- Searches and adjustments. Your solicitor checks the title and council and water accounts, and works out the adjustments. On written request, the seller must give you a statement of outgoings and rent that a search would not show.[2]
- Your cash contribution. Your solicitor tells you the final figure: the balance of the price, plus or minus adjustments, less your loan. Transfer it in good time, using details you have confirmed by phone with your solicitor.
Before settlement, the seller must use the property reasonably, must not do anything that significantly alters it, and must send you a copy of any notice affecting it.[2] The seller must also remove anything that is not included in the sale before settlement.[2]
After reasonable notice to the seller, the standard contract lets you enter the property once to inspect it before settlement.[2] It is your chance to check that the home is in the condition you agreed to buy, that the included chattels are there, and that the seller’s belongings are gone. Book it as close to settlement as you can, usually through the selling agent.
Take your contract, a list of the inclusions and your building and pest report. Check that the appliances, lights, taps, hot water and air conditioning work, and that nothing has been damaged since your last visit. If something is wrong, tell your solicitor straight away, before settlement, not after. Under the standard contract the seller must also have installed compliant smoke alarms by settlement; if not, your remedy is an adjustment of 0.15% of the price, but only if you claim it in writing on or before settlement.[2]
Outgoings such as council rates, water rates and fire service levies are split at settlement. Under the standard contract the seller is liable for them, and entitled to any rent, up to and including the settlement date; you are liable, and entitled to rent, from the day after.[2] The Queensland Government puts it the same way: the seller pays rates up to and including settlement day, and you pay from the next day.[1]
In practice the seller has often paid a rates notice that runs past settlement, so you reimburse them for your share. For example, if the seller has paid $1,200 for the half-year from 1 January to 30 June 2027 and settlement is on 31 March, the seller is liable for 90 of the 181 days and you repay the other 91 days, about $603.[2] Unpaid charges are adjusted the other way. Your solicitor shows each adjustment on the settlement statement.
If the home is tenanted, rent already paid for the period that includes settlement is adjusted, and the tenancy documents and bond transfer come to you at settlement.[2] Land tax is handled as the reference schedule says, so ask your solicitor which option your contract uses.
Under the standard contract, settlement must be completed by 4pm on the settlement date and must be done electronically for a normal transfer of title.[2] Your solicitor, the seller’s solicitor and both lenders work in a shared online workspace. On the day, the balance of the price is paid by electronic funds transfer as set out in the workspace’s financial settlement schedule.[2] You do not need to attend: your legal and financial representatives deal with the seller’s side.[1]
On settlement day you will usually pay the remaining amount of the price, receive the title, get the keys and take possession.[1] The seller must give you vacant possession, except for any tenancy you are taking over, and title to the included chattels passes to you at settlement.[2] The seller must hand over the keys at settlement if you asked for them at least 2 business days before the settlement date, so ask the agent early where and when you can collect them.[2]
Time is of the essence in the standard contract, so the settlement date is binding.[2] The contract allows two kinds of extension:
- Extension notice. Either party can give notice, up to 4pm on the settlement date, of a new date no later than 5 business days after the scheduled date.[2]
- Late unsigning. If the electronic workspace is unsigned between 3pm and 4pm because another party changed it, and it is not re-signed by 4pm, settlement moves automatically to the next business day. This can happen once.[2]
Outside those, a buyer who cannot settle is in default. The seller may then end the contract, keep the deposit, resell the property and claim any shortfall on the resale, along with damages that can include legal costs, and interest at the contract’s default rate on money paid late.[2] If the seller is the one who cannot settle, the buyer has matching rights to end the contract, recover the deposit and claim damages.[2] The most common causes are avoidable: a lender not ready, funds not cleared, or documents unsigned. Keep in touch with your solicitor and lender in the last week.
Once the home is yours, a few checks remain. If an older home has no safety switch, you must install one for the power point circuits within 3 months of the transfer. Queensland’s interconnected photoelectric smoke alarm requirements apply to homes sold or leased, and to all homes from 1 January 2027. And confirm with your solicitor or a title search that you are recorded as the owner.[4]
Then the practical jobs: set up electricity, internet and water accounts, update your address, and consider changing the locks. Our post on reasons to rekey your new home explains why. For the full set of buying costs, including those at settlement, see our list of the costs of buying a house in QLD.
IPS works only for buyers, never sellers. We negotiate the price and terms, including the settlement date, and work with your broker, building and pest inspector and solicitor through to settlement. See our buyer’s agent services for how that works.
The settlement date can be part of what wins a property. In one Caboolture purchase, a tight conditional contract and a fast settlement helped our client secure a unit for $517,500 although the selling agent had a competing $525,000 offer. Through the settlement period we keep the dates in front of everyone, attend the pre-settlement inspection with you, and chase anything the seller still owes before 4pm on the day.
Settlement is usually 4–6 weeks after the contract.[1] In that time you insure the home, clear the conditions, sign the loan, pay transfer duty and inspect the property once more. On the day it all happens online by 4pm, adjustments split the rates and rent, and the keys and title pass to you.[2] Most delays come from something not being ready, so keep in touch with your solicitor and lender, and keep every date in your calendar.
This article is general information only, current at October 2026. It describes the standard REIQ/QLS contract, not your contract, and is not legal or financial advice. Check your settlement date, adjustments and obligations with your solicitor or conveyancer and your lender.
If you would like help with the purchase, from the search to the keys, book a time with Tim Allen.
What time does settlement happen in Queensland?
Under the standard REIQ/QLS contract, settlement must be completed by 4pm on the settlement date. It happens electronically between the solicitors and lenders, so there is no meeting to attend. Your solicitor will usually tell you once it has gone through, and you can then arrange to collect the keys from the selling agent.
Can I move in before settlement?
Not under the standard contract. The seller must give you vacant possession on the settlement date, in exchange for the balance of the price. Before then your access is limited to inspections, such as the building and pest inspection, a valuation and one pre-settlement inspection. Any earlier access or move-in needs the seller’s agreement in writing, usually as a special condition.
Do I need to be there on settlement day?
No. Settlement is handled online by your solicitor or conveyancer and your lender, working with the seller’s solicitor and lender in a shared electronic workspace. Your jobs are to sign your loan documents, transfer your own contribution in time, do the pre-settlement inspection, and be ready to collect the keys once settlement is confirmed.
Who pays the council rates at settlement?
They are shared. The seller pays rates and similar charges, such as water rates and the fire levy, up to and including settlement day, and you pay from the next day. If the seller has already paid a notice that runs past settlement, you reimburse them for your share at settlement, and your solicitor shows the figure on the settlement statement.
Can the settlement date be changed?
Yes, by agreement between buyer and seller at any time. Under the standard contract either party can also extend settlement by notice, up to 4pm on the settlement date, to a new date no more than 5 business days later. Otherwise time is of the essence, so a party who is not ready on the day risks being in default.
What happens if my finance is not ready for settlement?
Tell your solicitor as early as possible. Under the standard contract either party can give an extension notice of up to 5 business days, but beyond that a buyer who cannot settle is in default, and the seller may end the contract, keep the deposit and claim damages. Stay in touch with your lender throughout the final week.