Most people have heard the term Caveat Emptor. "Buyer beware".
Directly translated it means: "purchase at your own risk".
This Latin phrase dictates the legal principle for buying a property in Queensland. However, things are about to change. Updates to the disclosure requirements for land sales in Queensland will mean a significant departure from the "buyer beware" principle.
In Queensland, the onus has traditionally rested on buyers to conduct thorough due diligence investigations before finalising a property purchase - with sellers having relatively limited responsibilities in terms of disclosure.
Property law - Seller's Disclosure.
In October 2023, the Queensland Government passed the Property Law Bill (2023), replacing the Property Law Act (1974). The Bill introduces many changes to property law that will impact property sales and leasing in Queensland.
The Act will commence on 1 August 2025 and this new legislation will affect all real estate agents and property lawyers / conveyancers as well as bankers & brokers and anyone dealing in Queensland property. The regime is mandatory.
The Seller's Disclosure Regime.
This regime applies to the sale of both residential and commercial properties in Queensland. Once the regime commences, the seller will need to provide buyers with a signed seller disclosure statement. and prescribed certificates in relation to the property they are selling to prospective buyers - before a contract of sale is signed by the prospective buyer.
There are specific requirements on how the disclosure documents must be prepared, what must be included, and how it must be given to the buyer. In Queensland, real estate professionals are permitted to prepare and exchange the disclosure documents on behalf of their client - the Seller.
The disclosure statement WILL NEED to include information like: a title search, a registered survey plan, any adjudicator's orders - for example, QCAT for tree/s and fence/s, if it is in a community title scheme, body corporate information certificate, community management statement, and bylaws not included in the CMS.
Also, pool safety compliance, QBCC notices, environmental protection notices and current rates and water documentation will need to be provided as part of the new disclosure regime.
FLOODING History and Flooding Maps will NOT, at this stage, be included in the Disclosure Statement is . In our opinion, this area will almost certainly be the subject of further debate particularly having regard to the nature and number of serious flood events in Queensland over the last few years.
At Charltons, we believe that the new laws will allow greater transparency for buyers, paving the way for Queensland property sales to have less problems and difficulty once a Contract is signed.
Currently, there are numerous cases where searches reveal defects or issues with the property that result in termination of the transaction.
The buyer may be entitled to terminate a contract for sale any time before settlement if the disclosure documents are not provided correctly, or there is a mistake or omission that relates to a material matter; that the buyer was not aware of, and had they been made aware, they would have never entered into the contract.
The draft Disclosure Statement can be found here:
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