11/08/2025
It has been ten days since the PLA 2023 reforms came into effect on 1 August 2025.
As a commercial and property law solicitor who holds out a conveyance shingle, it has been very interesting to say the least.
My observations:
1. Agents are very reluctant to prepare the form 2 and contribute to the costs (some of which they would always wear). You might have to pay money into your solicitor's trust account before they help you. Some searches cost hundreds of dollars.
2. Sellers should prepare for their sale by contacting their solicitor at the same time, or ideally before they instruct the agent.
3. If you do not know your property inside out, and for example, are unaware if the property has received a notice from council, you should be aware it can sometimes take weeks before certain search results are obtained. If you are not prepared to sign a waiver absolving your solicitor from blame for your instructions, you may need to give them weeks to obtain the search results.
4. If you own a property in a strata title scheme (for example a unit), keep your meeting minutes and let your solicitor know if there are future costs which are not levied, a potential buyer might need to fork out for. If you do not know, you might want to pay for your lawyer to review the body corporate records. Yes it can be expensive, but it is much cheaper than being sued years down the track.
5. Just fess up. If you are aware of things about your property and you do disclose to the buyer before they sign the contract, you are not responsible.
6. If you do not disclose, the buyer can sue you many years after settlement for breach of your warranties to provide this information to them.
7. If in doubt, tell your solicitor about it so they can put it in the disclosure notice.
Change can be difficult.
Give yourself time to prepare and call your solicitor.
