Areas we serve / Mornington Peninsula / Safety Beach
Lawyers and solicitors for Safety Beach
Buying and selling, off-the-plan apartments and townhouses, owners corporations, marina berths and retirement village contracts for Safety Beach and Martha Cove clients, from our Frankston office about 20 to 25 minutes away.
What we do for Safety Beach clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Safety Beach clients
Safety Beach lies on the bay between Mount Martha and Dromana, below Arthurs Seat. Martha Cove, a marina and residential development begun in 2004, added an inland harbour, townhouses and apartments, and in 2021 nearly one in five occupied homes in Safety Beach was a townhouse or semi-detached home.
We act for Safety Beach and Martha Cove buyers and sellers, for owners of townhouses, apartments and marina berths, for people moving into a retirement village, and for families with wills and estates. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish, and we meet at our Frankston office or by video.
Local note
In 2021 almost one in four occupied homes in Safety Beach was rented, and one in three homes was unoccupied on Census night, many of them holiday homes.
Townhouses, apartments and berths
Buying at Martha Cove or in a new development
Much of Safety Beach’s newer housing is in townhouses, apartments and the Martha Cove marina. Check these points before you sign.
Tap or point to the gold markers on the drawing.
Property, marina berths and retirement villages in Safety Beach
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Contract and section 32 review, auctions and private sales, and settlement for houses, townhouses and apartments.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including any overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- Units and townhouses: properties with common property are managed by an owners corporation. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
- Cooling-off: for many private sales of residential property, you have 3 clear business days after signing to end the contract. There is none at a publicly advertised auction.
- Land tax at settlement: for most sales, a seller can no longer pass land tax on to the buyer.
Off-the-plan contracts and owners corporations for new apartments and townhouses.
- Off-the-plan purchases: deposit limits, changes to the plan of subdivision, registration deadlines and sunset clauses.
- Sunset clauses: a developer cannot end a residential off-the-plan contract under a sunset clause just because the date has passed. It must give each buyer at least 28 days’ written notice with reasons and obtain their written consent, or apply to the Supreme Court.
- Developer duties: the initial owner must act in good faith in the owners corporation’s interests, cannot be appointed its manager, and must not propose an unreasonable or unsustainable budget.
Buying, selling and leasing a marina berth.
- What you are buying: a marina berth is often sold as a long lease or licence rather than a freehold title, so read the lease, the marina rules and the fees before you commit.
- Transfers: selling a berth usually needs the marina operator’s consent under the lease or licence. We check the transfer terms before you buy.
- Your vessel: check what the berth agreement says about insurance, maintenance and the size of vessel allowed.
Retirement village contracts and the move from the family home.
- The contract: retirement village contracts in Victoria are governed by the Retirement Villages Act 1986 (Vic). Read the village’s information statement and the contract before you sign, especially the exit fee (deferred management fee), which is often deducted from what you get back when you leave. New rules that started on 1 May 2026 limit how that fee can be calculated and set a maximum time for paying out exit entitlements, so check which rules apply to your contract.
- A parent moving: when a parent moves into aged care or a retirement village, the sale, the power of attorney and any effect on the pension need to line up. We work with your accountant and family on the timing.
- Enduring power of attorney: appoints someone to make financial or personal decisions for you, or both, and continues if you lose capacity. Made under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic).
Buying off the plan?
A developer cannot end a residential off-the-plan contract under a sunset clause just because the date has passed. It needs each buyer’s written consent or an order of the Supreme Court.
Buying off the plan
Buying off the plan, step by step
From signing to settlement. We explain each step, in English or in Polish.
01
The contract
We check the deposit, the plan of subdivision, the registration deadline and any sunset clause before you sign.
02
Owners corporation
We read the proposed rules, the budget and the fees, and what the developer can still change before registration.
03
Finance
Arrange finance early, because a loan approval can lapse before settlement on a long build.
04
Registration
Once the plan is registered, the developer tells you, and settlement follows within the period set in the contract.
05
Settlement
Inspect before settlement and list any defects in writing. Settlement happens electronically through a platform such as PEXA.
How we work
Visit us from Safety Beach
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm, by appointment
From Safety Beach
About 20 to 25 minutes by car via the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Peninsula Link.
By bus
Routes 781 and 788 link Dromana and Mount Martha with Frankston station, a short walk from our office. Check the timetable for stops in Safety Beach.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
The deposit and where it is held, the plan of subdivision, the registration deadline and the sunset clause, and the owners corporation rules and budget. We review the contract and the disclosure documents before you sign.
Properties with common property, such as shared driveways, gardens or pools, are managed by an owners corporation. Owners pay fees and follow its rules. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
Usually, but a berth is often held under a long lease or licence, and the operator’s consent may be needed. We check the terms of your lease or licence and the transfer steps.
The entry payment, the ongoing fees, the exit fee, when your exit entitlement will be paid, and what happens if you need more care. Read the information statement and the contract, and get advice before you sign.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 20 to 25 minutes by car. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, so you may only need to come in to sign documents.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language services.
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Talk to us about your Safety Beach matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm.