26 September, 2018
What you need to know
The Sale of Land Amendment Bill 2018 restricting seller's rescission rights under existing and new residential off-the-plan contracts and introducing other buyer protections has lapsed. It wasn't passed before the Parliament expired in preparation for the November election in Victoria.
What you need to do
Keep an eye out for our advice about the incoming Government's reintroduction of the Bill.
What the Bill proposed
Proposed changes to seller's rescission rights under sunset clauses
The Bill proposed that regardless of what the contract says, a seller may only rescind a residential off-the-plan contract under a sunset clause (that is, either because a plan has not registered or an occupancy permit not issued before a stated sunset date) if the seller has either the buyer's written consent or a Supreme Court order permitting the rescission.
Similar legislation was introduced in NSW in November 2015.
More buyer protections
The Bill also proposed to:
- require residential off-the-plan contracts to include specific statements about the seller's rights to rescind under a sunset clause;
- strengthen the offence of concealing material facts about a property, and enable guidelines to help sellers and agents to understand what a material fact is likely to be;
- introduce protections for people who purchase options to buy land as part of land banking schemes, including requiring money paid for options to be held in a trust; and
- prohibit certain terms contracts and rent-to-buy arrangements, with significant fines and potential jail time for sellers and third-party intermediaries to act as a strong deterrent.
For further information, please contact:
Jason Cornwall-Jones, Partner, Ashurst
jason.cornwall-jones@ashurst.com
