Sustainability Declarations - What they mean for Buyers
From 1 January 2010, all sellers of residential property must complete a Sustainability Declaration before the property is marketed for sale, which informs buyers about the sustainability features of a property in relation to energy, water, access and safety. The Selling Agent must make the declaration available to potential buyers of the property, and a copy of the Sustainability Declaration must be provided to the final buyer. For buyers, there are two key items to note:
1. If a Seller is unsure of an answer to any questions on the declaration, they can leave those sections blank. The minimum information required is the address of the property, and for the seller to sign and date the declaration. Sellers are not obliged to engage tradespeople or other professionals to assist with completion of the declaration. Therefore, we expect to see plenty of "blank" declarations.
2. If a buyer purchases a property and the declaration was found to be false or misleading or prepared without reasonable skill and care, and the buyer incurred loss or expense because of that, the seller may be liable to compensate the buyer for the loss or expense. However, the buyer can not terminate a contract on the basis of information contained in the declaration being false or incomplete. Essentially, the only recourse to Buyers is through the Courts AFTER the property has settled and they've handed over their money.
In short, until such time as Sellers are required to complete ALL the information in the Sustainability Declaration, and Buyers have the right to terminate a contract if the information is false or misleading, then it is of minimal benefit to buyers. We hope to see the law around Sustainability Declarations develop in the same way as a Building & Pest inspection clause in contracts, which gives Buyers the right to terminate a contract if issues are found.
For more information, visit the Qld Government’s Sustainable Housing website:
http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/sustainable-housing/sustainability-declaration.html