Industry Update

4th October 2024 - Queensland’s New Property Law Act 2023 will commence on 1 August 2025: What this means for Buyers and Sellers

For those eagerly awaiting the announcement of the commencement date of the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) and the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld), you need not wait any longer. The commencement date has been fixed for 1 August 2025.

In our previous article, we detailed one of the major reforms of the Act, which is the introduction of the new seller disclosure regime for property sales.

The Act will be supported by the Property Law Regulation 2024 (Qld). However, significant reforms are also being introduced through the Body Corporate and Community Management (Body Corporate Certificates) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (Qld). These Regulations will commence with the Act on 1 August 2025.

Below, we have summarised the key aspects of these Regulations.

Property Law Regulation

The key provisions of the Property Law Regulation include:

1. the list of prescribed certificates that a seller must give to a buyer, which include (to the extent applicable to the transaction):

• 1. a title search and plan;
  2. notice containing details of any building work;
  3. any current show cause notices or enforcement notices issued under the Building Act 1975 (Qld) or Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld);
  4. any current work order or notice from an authority;
  5. any notices required to be given to the buyer under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld), including notice of contamination of the property;
  6. any document given to a seller in relation to the property being affected by an application or order under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld);
  7. any document given to the seller from a government entity about a transport infrastructure proposal;
  8. any documents given to the seller from any entity in relation to an intention to resume the property (or part of the property);
  9. if there is a pool, pool compliance certificate (or notice that there is no pool safety certificate);
  10. if the property is included in a community titles scheme, the community management statement; and
  11. if the property is included in a community titles scheme or Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld) scheme, a body corporate certificate (or explanatory statement if the body corporate certificate cannot be obtained).

1. the prescribed information to be included in the seller’s disclosure statement, including:

• 1. seller’s details;
  2. title description and address;
  3. whether the property is included in a community titles scheme or Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld) scheme;
  4. details of any unregistered encumbrances;
  5. zoning of the property;
  6. information relating to contamination and environmental protection;
  7. whether the property is affected by an application or order under the Neighbourhood Disputes (Dividing Fences and Trees) Act 2011 (Qld);
  8. whether the property is affected by a notice from a government entity about a transport infrastructure proposal;
  9. whether the property is affected by the Queensland Heritage Act 1992 (Qld) or included in the World Heritage List;
  10. whether the property is affected by a notice of intention to resume the property (or part of the property);
  11. whether there is a pool on the property;
  12. information relating to rates and water services; and
  13. details of the last rent increase if the property was subject to a residential tenancy agreement or rooming accommodation agreement during the last 12 months.

1. warnings and other statements to be included in the seller’s disclosure statement (contained in Schedule 1 of the Property Law Regulation). These warnings and statements reference matters relating to encumbrances, land use, buildings and structures, rates and services, and community titles schemes and Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (Qld) scheme.
2. explanation of what is regarded as a prescribed mortgage under the Act.

Body Corporate Regulation

To the extent that the property sale is for a lot within a community titles scheme, the Body Corporate Regulation identifies the prescribed information that must be included in the body corporate certificate

Generally, the information to be included in the body corporate certificate is mostly identical in its application for the various modules with some slight nuances.

This information typically includes:

1. lot number and plan and details of the type of plan of subdivision;
2. scheme details (including whether the scheme is a layered arrangement of community titles schemes);
3. details of the annual contributions and special contributions fixed by the body corporate and whether any discounts or penalties apply to the payment of contributions;
4. amounts payable or owed to the body corporate;
5. interest schedule lot entitlement and contribution schedule lot entitlement;
6. the body corporate’s sinking fund balance;
7. insurance held by the body corporate;
8. engagement of a caretaking service contractor or authorisation for a person to conduct a letting agent business;
9. application of a building management statement;
10. improvements on the common property that the owner of a lot is responsible for maintaining;
11. details of body corporate assets;
12. any arrangement to supply electricity in the scheme through an embedded electricity network; and
13. the most recent statement of accounts.

What’s next?

The Queensland Government has previously produced drafts of the seller’s disclosure statement and body corporate certificate. These drafts are still yet to be settled in their approved form.

We will publish a more detailed summary of the changes to expect with the commencement of the Property Law Act in 2025.

For more information, please contact Sarah Roettgers and Faye Winterflood.

Sourced from Queensland’s New Property Law Act 2023 will commence on 1 August 2025: What this means for Buyers and Sellers - Hamilton Locke

27th September 2024 - Property Law Act 2023 to commence on 1 August 2025

The commencement date for the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) and associated regulations (new PLA) has been officially announced. Mark your calendars for 1 August 2025.

Some of the most significant changes to practice will be in the area of seller disclosure. We’ve detailed some key points you need to know about the new seller disclosure regime below. Additionally, the changes introduced by the new PLA will affect those working in all areas of property law practice, including leases, deeds, and easements.

It is essential to stay informed and prepared for these upcoming changes to ensure compliance and mitigate any potential risks. We will publish a more detailed summary of the changes in early 2025 (updating our previous blogs on this subject).

To learn more about the changes including the new disclosure requirements and how they will affect your business, please contact Leone Costigan, Julie Jankowski or Danica Corbett or your usual Herbert Smith Freehills real estate contact.

The new Seller Disclosure Regime in six key points 1. New Disclosure Regime Previously, sellers in Queensland had to disclose information to potential buyers under a mix of common law, statutory and contractual obligations. The new PLA simplifies this by extending disclosure obligations to all categories of freehold land (except for proposed lots) and consolidating some existing disclosure requirements. 2. Why have the new rules Under the new PLA, sellers must provide information they know or can easily find at a reasonable cost. The purpose for this disclosure is to provide valuable information to a buyer to assist in making their decision to purchase the property. 3. Who must comply All sellers must comply unless there is an exception from disclosure in the new PLA. The exceptions require a buyer to waive the disclosure requirements in some cases, but in other cases there is an automatic exemption if all eligibility requirements are met. 4. What must be disclosed The new PLA is very specific about the form and content of disclosure. It requires a disclosure statement in the approved form and documents prescribed by regulation (prescribed certificates) and must be given to the buyer before the contract is signed. There are ‘double disclosure’ requirements for option deeds where there is a nominee provision. Disclosure must be made before entry into the option deed. If a nomination occurs, the seller must again provide the required disclosure documents before the nominee contract is entered into. The option deed must expressly cater for this process to ensure that a binding contract is entered into between the nominee and seller. Disclosure requirements that may exist under other legislation will continue to apply and there are specific rules for sales by auction. 5. Consequences of non-disclosure If the seller fails to provide any prescribed disclosure document before the buyer or nominee signs the contract, the buyer has the right to terminate the contract at any point until settlement. The buyer does not need to suffer any negative impact to use its termination rights – the mere fact disclosure was omitted is sufficient. Buyers may also have a termination right where information in the disclosure documents is inaccurate or incomplete and relates to a material matter affecting the property and the buyer was not aware of this information when it signed the contract. 6. Impact Whether the new regime is a positive change remains to be seen. For a seller, these new disclosure requirements will add to the complexity and cost of transactions. There are also harsh consequences for sellers if a disclosure statement is not given or is inaccurate in any material matter. Buyers should keep in mind that the disclosure documents do not necessarily contain all information they should consider when purchasing property – further due diligence may be required. However, for all parties the consolidation of seller disclosure requirements for nearly all land types should make the sale process more transparent. Sourced from Property Law Act 2023 to commence on 1 August 2025 - Lexology - practical know-how

 

21st August 2024 - Stage 2 tenancy law changes commencing September 30 2024.  Watch short video here.

21st August 2024 - Minimum Housing standards commences for all Queensland Rental properties from 1 September 2024. Watch video here.

20th August 2024 - Changes to workplace laws from August 26th. Sourced information. Fair Work Ombudsman

There are changes to workplace laws that start on 26 August 2024 as part of the Closing Loopholes reforms. They include changes to casual employment and a new right to disconnect. These could impact you or your workplace.
 

What you can do now

We have information to help you prepare. Learn more about:

• Changes to casual employment including how casual work is defined, pathways to permanent employment, and employee and employer responsibilities.
• Changes to independent contractor rules including a change to the definition of employment.
• A new right to disconnect for employees which gives eligible employees the right to refuse contact outside their working hours unless that refusal is unreasonable. This doesn’t apply to small businesses until 26 August 2025. 
• New minimum standards and protections for ‘employee-like workers’ in the gig economy and certain industries.

We’ll have more information and resources available on 26 August. 

For a visual snapshot of all the Closing Loopholes changes and when they start, check out our easy-to-read timeline.

Find out more about changes already in place at Closing Loopholes. Sourced from Prepare for 26 August changes to workplace laws (fairwork.gov.au)

16th August 2024 - Stage 2 commencement dates announced

The Queensland Government have advised that the 2nd part of Stage 2 tenancy laws will commence in a further two stages - 30 September 2024, and 1 May 2025. Members of Real Estate Excellence will receive further information in due course via the Real Estate Excellence Member Updates service. Upcoming Queensland half day PME training events will focus on the changes Training/Events (realestateexcellence.com.au). 

9th August 2024 - Landlords buying an investment residential property need to be across the residential rental law reforms. Sourced article. 

If you are a landlord, or you are considering becoming a landlord by buying an investment residential property, then you need to be across the residential rental law reforms.

On the 6 June 2024, rental reforms were introduced by the Queensland Government. The rental reforms set a limit for rental increases, by implementing that the rent for any property can only be increased on one occasion within any 12 month period.

The reforms were implemented given significant increases in rent which have been seen in Queensland in recent years.

It is of vital importance that rental records are maintained if you are a landlord. You need to keep rental ledgers and retain correspondence sent to the tenant notifying them of a rental increase. Such record keeping is important, as if you sell the property you are required to disclose to a Buyer the date of the last rental increase and provide evidence of the rental increase prior to settlement.

This information needs to be provided to a Buyer, so they can ensure they comply with the legislative requirements to not increase the rental within 12 months of the date of the last rental increase. As a Buyer, you inherit the position of the Seller and any other former owner of the property as this requirement attaches to the property – not to a particular tenant or owner.

It is important to ensure if you are buying or selling a residential property, that either is tenanted or has been tenanted within the last 12 months, that you obtain detailed advice on the rent history.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Sourced from Rent reform impact on buying/selling residential property - - Real Estate and Construction - Australia (mondaq.com)