Documentation

3. Documentation and Other Requirements

Contracts and Section 32 'Vendor's Statement'

Contracts are usually prepared by your solicitor although we can fill in a standard prescribed contract published by the REIV and Law Institute of Victoria if required.

The Standard prescribed contract includes a number of general conditions designed to protect both buyer and seller, and covers most normal land transfer situations. Additionally, a solicitor prepared contract may include additional special conditions which are typically included to protect the vendors interests, or cover any special circumstances surrounding the property – i.e. where probate is still in process of being granted or assigning liability for a notice affecting the property. They may also include a directors guarantee so that if the property is sold to a company, the directors assume personal liability for the completion of the contract, should the company default.

The Vendors Statement is required under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962, and provides various details about the property. For a contract to be legally binding on a purchaser, a Vendors Statement, signed by the vendor, must be given to a purchaser before he/she signs a contract.

The solicitor or conveyancer preparing a vendors statement on your behalf will likely have a number of questions about your property, and it will be useful to have on hand a rates notice, details of services connected to the property, as well as details of owners corporation (where applicable) and in particular, details of any building works which have been conducted in the past 10 years. There are a number of insurance requirements around major building works, as well as any owner-builder works and renovations, which is often a cause of significant delays with documentation if not identified early.

Rates

A copy of the council and water rate notice for the current period;

Services

Details of the services including gas, electricity, water, sewerage and telephone that are connected at the property. Similarly if any services are available to the property but not yet connected to any dwelling please advise them;

Selling a Unit

Any time that a property being sold is affected by an Owners Corporation (formerly known as a body corporate) the vendors must provide the purchaser with an Owners Corporation Certificate. This is irrespective of whether the Owners Corporation is active or not, and whilst two lot subdivisions are exempt from certain requirements, an Owners Corporation Certificate must still be supplied and be affixed with the common seal of the Owners Corporation. The only sure way to tell if the property is affected by an Owners Corporation is to check the title documents. Failure to include the required certificate in the documentation will give the purchaser the right to avoid the contract at any time up until settlement, so this is an important topic to discuss with your legal advisor.

Selling a property which is tenanted

If the property is on a month to month residential tenancy, and is to be sold with vacant possession at settlement, a minimum of sixty days' notice to vacate must be given to a the tenant by you or the managing agent. If however a fixed term Tenancy Agreement exists, the tenants cannot be required to vacate until the end of the term specified in that written agreement.

Building approvals

Building approvals for a new house or renovations that have been done to the property in the last ten years must have a copy of Building Approval or, if you do not have a copy, your solicitor will require the Building Approval Number of any building approvals that have been granted in the last ten years. They will also require a copy of any guarantee from the Housing Guarantee Fund or builders insurance (if applicable).

Where works are completed by a registered builder, your solicitor will require a copy of the builders warranty insurance, and in the case of owner builder works, a prescribed defect report and provision of home owners warranty insurance in accordance with S.137 of the Building Act 1993.

Notices

Details of any notices received, such as fencing notices, Notice of Compulsory Acquisition by Vic Roads or liability for works affecting the owners corporation for example. Unless otherwise dealt with in the contract of sale you will be responsible for complying with all notices issued prior to the date the contract is signed.

Important: This general advice may not be relevant to you. You cannot rely on the legal aspects of this general advice; it is provided for information purposes only and you should please seek specific legal advice for contracts, sale documentation and settlement, and other legal issues.