Equitable mortgage vs registered mortgage in Queensland: is a caveat enough?

If a private lender says it will take “a caveat over your property”, you may be offered an equitable mortgage rather than a registered one. A registered mortgage sits on the Queensland title with statutory rights behind it. An equitable mortgage is a charge created by the contract you sign, protected by a notice on the title. Both are genuine security. They behave differently when timing slips, and that’s what you should understand before you sign.

What is a registered mortgage?

A registered mortgage is lodged with Titles Queensland and recorded on the certificate of title. Once registered, the lender holds a statutory security interest. If you default, it has a power of sale under the mortgage and the Property Law Act framework, and its place in the queue behind or ahead of other lenders is set by the register.

For you, the useful features are practical ones. A search of the title shows exactly who is secured and in what order. A refinancing lender or a buyer’s conveyancer can see it, price it and deal with it. And when you repay, the lender lodges a release and the title is clear.

What is an equitable mortgage, and where does the caveat fit?

An equitable mortgage arises when you sign a document agreeing to charge your property as security, without the mortgage being registered. The security is real in the eyes of the law, but it isn’t on the title, so the lender needs a way to warn others. That’s the caveat.

A caveat is a notice lodged on the title using a Form 11. It records that someone claims an interest in the land and generally stops other dealings being registered without notice to the caveator. It doesn’t prove the interest exists. It protects the claim the lender says it has, which in a caveat loan is the charge in your signed loan agreement.

So the quick answer to “is a caveat the same as a mortgage?” is no. The caveat is the shield. The equitable mortgage is the thing it protects.

Why does Queensland treat caveat-only lending differently?

Because the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) is built around registration. Two points matter.

• Section 122(2): a caveat can be lodged by an equitable mortgagee only if it is a caveat to which section 126 applies. The wording is in the Act and it narrows what a caveat-only lender can rely on.
• Lapsing: Titles Queensland says a caveat generally lasts from 14 days to three months depending on its type and the steps taken (Titles Queensland). Ordinarily a caveat lodged with the registered owner’s consent doesn’t lapse in that window. But one Queensland firm’s commentary says the legislation treats a mortgage as the correct form of security, so a caveat protecting an equitable mortgage is always subject to the lapsing rules (Macpherson Kelley).

Other Queensland commentary reads the consent route more favourably, so treat this as a point your solicitor should confirm for your exact documents rather than a settled rule. What isn’t contested is the commercial result: Queensland lenders who care about their position don’t leave a loan sitting on a bare caveat for long.

What does that mean for you as the borrower?

You might think lapsing is the lender’s problem. It isn’t entirely.

1. Surprise conversions. If a lender’s protection is about to lapse, the usual fix is to register the mortgage you signed, or to lodge a fresh caveat. That can happen at an inconvenient time, and the costs are normally yours under the loan documents.
2. Weaker certainty if you default. An unregistered mortgage generally needs a court process or registration before a sale. That’s slower for everyone and often means higher legal costs charged to you.
3. Messier refinancing. A bank’s valuer and solicitor will want a clean title. A caveat they didn’t expect can add a week to your exit.
4. A false sense of simplicity. The caveat route feels lighter because nothing is registered. In reality, you’ve still charged your property.

Caveat-only vs registered mortgage: side by side

	Caveat-only (equitable mortgage)	Registered mortgage
Where it sits	A notice on title, backed by your signed charge	Recorded on title as a registered interest
Lender’s enforcement	Usually needs a court order or registration first	Power of sale under the registered mortgage
Fits best	A very short, certain exit	Anything that could run past a few weeks
Extra steps	Withdrawal of the caveat at the end	Registration at the start, discharge at the end
Bank consent	Often easier to arrange or avoid	May need first-mortgagee consent or a priority deed
Clarity for later buyers and lenders	Lower	Higher

For the wider comparison with second and first mortgages, see our guide to choosing between them.

A worked example

Say a Brisbane builder owns a Wilston house worth about $1.4m with no debt against it. A contract payment is 45 days away and they need $180k now to pay subcontractors and materials. They are offered a caveat-only loan with a three-month term.

On paper that looks fine. But 45 days of payment delay plus a few days of slippage is a long way into a three-month window. If the payment is late, the lender either registers the mortgage mid-loan or lodges again, and the builder pays for the extra paperwork at the worst moment.

Asked about it up front, the builder could request a registered first mortgage on the debt-free property. It adds a short registration step at the start. In return the title shows the security plainly, the lender is comfortable giving a longer term, and a bank refinance later is straightforward. The figures here are an illustration only.

Want to see how the dollars compare for your own offer? Run them through the caveat loan calculator or see if you qualify and we’ll look at both structures for your property.

When is a caveat-only loan still reasonable?

A caveat-only structure can still be sensible when all of these are true:

• the exit is certain and close, such as a signed contract of sale with a settlement date or an unconditional refinance approval;
• the term is genuinely short, with room to spare;
• you’ve had a solicitor confirm that the lender will hold a signed mortgage it can register if the timing moves;
• the letter of offer states the cost of withdrawing the caveat and any cost of registering the mortgage later.

If any of those is shaky, ask for registration from the start.

What if you already hold a bank mortgage?

Many owners offering a second charge worry that a registered second mortgage needs the bank’s permission. Often the bank’s mortgage terms say it does, though a second mortgage can sometimes be lodged without consent. If the bank is approached, or the new lender gives notice under the priority rules, the bank will commonly ask for a deed of priority, which can leave the new lender lower in the queue than it expected (Macpherson Kelley).

That’s one reason people reach for a caveat: it can avoid a consent conversation. It’s also why the sequence matters. Tell the lender about every existing mortgage, caveat and charge on the title at the start. A surprise registered interest is the most common reason a “simple” structure turns into a two-week delay. A title search at the start costs far less than a week lost at the end.

What to ask a lender before you sign

1. Will you lodge a caveat only, or register a mortgage? If caveat only, what happens if the loan runs past three months?
2. Do I sign a mortgage now that you may register later? In what circumstances will you register it?
3. What are the third-party costs for each route, in dollars? The registry publishes its fee schedule for 2026-27, so there’s no reason for a vague answer.
4. Who pays to register and who pays to discharge or withdraw?
5. If I have a bank mortgage, do you need its consent or a priority arrangement?

Our letter of offer checklist covers the remaining terms to check, and our Queensland caveat rules guide goes deeper on lodgement and withdrawal.

Not sure which structure fits your property?

Property is a big thing to charge, and the structure should suit your timeline rather than the lender’s convenience. If you’re weighing a caveat-only offer against a registered mortgage, it helps to have someone look at your title, your exit and your deadline together.

Enquiring takes about 60 seconds and there’s no credit check at this stage, so asking won’t touch your credit file. We don’t send your details out to a pile of lenders, so your phone won’t light up. A real person from our Brisbane desk reads your situation and calls you. Please fill the form in accurately, including what’s already registered on the title, so we can point you to the right structure first time.

See if you qualify →