Property disclosure law up for review in bid to tackle “caveat emptor” doctrine, Queensland
The first two papers reviewing the buying, selling and managing of property have been released by Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, and are now available for comment.
Looking to review Queensland’s Property Law, the two papers look to reduce red tape and regulation, said Bleijie.
“It is an exciting opportunity for property professionals, bodies corporate, property owners and the wider community to have their say in shaping this important review,” he said.
“It’s time we brought the property laws into the 21st century to help revitalise the market,” he said. This comes as the Property Occupations Act has also been undergoing review and changes.
These first two papers are around seller disclosure requirements and body corporate lot entitlements.
The Commercial and Property Law Research Centre at the Queensland University of Technology have partnered with the government in creating these reviews.
“We want all consumers to be properly informed when it comes to buying property,” he said.
“This is about getting the balance right and having a system that promotes the future of the property sector.”
The plan to have these reforms was mentioned in August last year.
Currently, the report explains that there is no single legislative or common law source governing seller disclosure obligations in Queensland.
General principles of current seller’s disclosure obligations under common law include that:
Only latent defects in the seller's title need to be disclosed (e.g. interests registered on the title such as encumbrances, leases and easements).
A seller is not required to disclose defects in the quality of the title (such as land restrictions or contamination issues).
A seller provides no warranty as to the fitness of the property for the purpose for which it was purchased.
The review, which poses a number of questions to real estate professionals, explains that disclosure obligations are currently without underlying principles, leaving the onus on the buyer.
"[Taken] as a whole, the Queensland seller disclosure obligations have evolved over a long period of time without any underlying guiding principles, apart from attempting to address the possible information asymmetry arising as a result of the perceived effect of the doctrine of caveat emptor,” explains the report.
You can submit comments to the review here.
