Changes to off the plan contracts

From 1 December 2019 there will be changes to the requirements for Off the Plan contracts.  You can have a look at the information from the NSW Registrar General by clicking on this link.

The changes include:

• a requirement for a disclosure documents

• a plan from a registered surveyor

• any proposed 88B instrument (an example being, an easement)

• any proposed schedule of finishes

• the draft by-laws for the strata scheme

There are other documents required as well, the list is fairly long.  You can have a look at the list by clicking on the link.

The cooling off period for Off the Plan purchases is changed from 5 days to 10 business days.

In addition to the documents required there are disclosure requirements upon the vendor that are new, and when certain things change the vendor must notify the purchaser.

Why does this matter?

If a contract for sale of land in NSW does not have all of the prescribed documents then it is not a contract for sale of land, that is, the purchaser can walk away and take back any deposit at any time (as they have not, indeed, entered into a contract).

In relation to the disclosure requirements, in some cases, purchasers will be able to rescind the contract because of a change to a ‘material particular’.   This means that it is crucial that you get your original disclosure as accurate as possible so that you don’t have to disclose any material particulars later.

It may be annoying and expensive to collate all of these documents, and to get the information to be accurate, but it is absolutely critical that you do so.

If you are unsure if your contract meets the requirements then you should give Teresa Sharpe a call on 0420 979 794.