Background
The Sale of Land Amendment Act 2019 (‘the Amendment Act’) which came into force on 4 June 2019 has made a number of changes to the Sale of Land Act 1962.
The Sale of Land Act will:
- include a new requirement that vendors or agents must not knowingly conceal a material fact about a property from a purchaser; and
- enable guidelines to be made by the Director of Consumer Affairs to help explain what a material fact is likely to be.
The Victorian Government has sought community feedback on the proposed Material Fact Guidelines.
The proposed Material Fact Guidelines provide examples of what a material fact is likely to be, and guidance about when material facts ought to be disclosed, and how they can be disclosed. Material facts could include:
- combustible cladding or asbestos on the property
- prior use of the property as an illicit drug laboratory
- that the property was the site of a homicide or other major crime; and
- building work on the land that did not have the required building or planning approvals.
This reform came into effect by 1 March 2020.
Consultation closed
Our consultation period closed on Friday 17 January 2020.
We sought feedback about:
a. The Guidelines generally. If you consider that changes to the Guidelines are necessary, please provide examples of what you propose those changes might be.
b. Whether further examples of material facts should be included in the Guidelines, and if so, what those examples might be.
We will consider the feedback received on the proposed Material Fact Guidelines.