A title is the right to ownership of real estate (land). A purchaser who signs a contract for the sale of land (where the land is governed by the Torrens system of land transfer commonly used in South Australia) acquires ownership after the registration of a transfer.

The Torrens system means title to the land, either as the owner, mortgagor, mortgagee, lessor or lessee, is gained or lost upon registration of a transfer, a mortgage or a lease.

This system is contrasted within the general law system under which title is gained or lost after the execution of, for example, a conveyance, mortgage or lease.

A torrens title is also the term used for a typical freehold title over land. There are other types of titles including strata titles and community titles, and Crown leases.

Finance institutions sometimes do not offer loans for properties offering moiety titles as security. A moiety title, typically covering maisonettes or attached cottages, means that the person owns a share of the whole of the land and leases a defined portion of the land for himself or herself from the other owner or owners.