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A.L.F Lawyers provides conveyancing for sellers across Brisbane and Queensland on residential, commercial and off the plan property sales. We prepare the sale contract, manage the seller disclosure obligations now imposed under the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld), and coordinate the transaction from listing through to settlement. Our vendor conveyancing Brisbane service covers the legal and administrative work required to take your sale from pre-listing preparation through to settlement.
The Form 2 must disclose the current title information for the lot, including any mortgages, easements, covenants, caveats, leases and other registered interests on the title.
This is supported by a current title search, registered plan of survey and any other prescribed certificates required under the Legislation.
These are rights and restrictions imposed by legislation that bind the property whether or not they appear on the title.
Common examples include vegetation management restrictions under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld), transport corridor reservations, heritage listings, environmental protection orders, and infrastructure access rights for power, water and telecommunications.
The seller must disclose statutory encumbrances they are aware of. Importantly, awareness is the test, but a court will not look favourably on a seller who claims ignorance of matters that any reasonable enquiry would have identified.
For property in a community titles scheme, additional disclosure is required. This includes the body corporate’s current financial position (administrative fund and sinking fund balances), any current or proposed special levies, by-laws affecting use, ongoing disputes, and statutory warranties.
The statutory warranty obligations require the seller to disclose any known latent and patent defects affecting the common property or body corporate assets. A latent defect is one not discoverable on a reasonable inspection. A patent defect would be. The seller must warrant their awareness of those defects at contract date.
This is supported by a current Body Corporate Information Certificate, which the body corporate or its manager must produce on request.
The Form 2 is accompanied by a suite of prescribed certificates. These typically include:
Where any required certificate is not obtainable or not included with the Form 2, the buyer may have a right of termination.
There are some matters often assumed to be part of mandatory disclosure that are not.
Flooding history is not a required statutory disclosure. The seller is not obliged under the Form 2 to disclose that the property has flooded.
Contamination is not a required statutory disclosure either, unless the property is recorded on the Environmental Management Register or the Contaminated Land Register. Those registers are referenced in the prescribed searches.
This does not mean a seller should remain silent. Common law under the Consumer Legislation obligations not to mislead the buyer continue to apply, and voluntary disclosure of material matters often reduces post-settlement disputes. We advise on what voluntary disclosure makes sense for your property at the contract preparation stage.
The Form 2 and prescribed certificates need to be in place before the property goes under contract. Ideally they are in place before the property is listed for sale. Understanding conveyancing when selling a house, we can assist Brisbane homeowners to you prepare the required documents and address potential issues early.
This means ordering a title search, body corporate certificate (if applicable), pool safety certificate, and confirming smoke alarm compliance. It also means addressing any known issues with the property’s compliance position, including unapproved building work.
We work with sellers in the pre-listing phase to assemble the disclosure pack so that, when an offer comes in, the contract can move forward without delay.
This pre-listing work is an important part of conveyancing for sellers Brisbane, allowing potential disclosure and compliance issues to be addressed before an offer is accepted.
From 1 January 2025, every seller of taxable Australian real property must obtain an ATO Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding Clearance Certificate before settlement, regardless of sale price.
Without a clearance certificate, the buyer is required to withhold 15% of the sale price at settlement and remit it to the ATO. This applies even where the seller is an Australian resident.
We arrange the clearance certificate application as part of our standard service.
The contract can be prepared by the seller’s solicitor or by the listing agent. Where the sale is straightforward and the seller is comfortable with the standard REIQ form, an agent-prepared contract is usually adequate. For more complex transactions, our vendor conveyancing Brisbane team can take control of the contract preparation and advise you on terms that may affect the sale.
As part of our conveyancing for sellers Brisbane service, we can prepare or review the contract to ensure the terms reflect the circumstances of your sale before an offer is signed.
The Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement must be given to the buyer before the buyer signs the contract. The buyer must sign the Form 2 to acknowledge receipt.
If the Form 2 is given to the buyer after the contract is signed, or is materially defective, the buyer may have a right to terminate before settlement. This is the most significant new risk for sellers in the post-August 2025 environment.
Most contracts are conditional on finance and, where the buyer has negotiated it, building and pest. We monitor those dates on your behalf and respond to extension requests, terminations or price negotiations.
After conditions are satisfied, the buyer’s solicitor will issue requisitions: a standard set of questions about the property and the title. We respond to those requisitions and clear any issues raised.
The vast majority of residential settlements in Queensland are now completed electronically through PEXA. As part of our conveyancing for sellers Brisbane service, we coordinate with your outgoing lender to arrange your discharge of mortgage, attend to settlement adjustments for rates, water, body corporate levies and land tax, and release the sale proceeds to your account.
Don’t sign anything until you’ve spoken to us.
Property contracts are complex, and the wrong advice at the wrong time can cost you dearly. Our conveyancing lawyers will review your contract in full, explain exactly what you’re agreeing to, and identify any conditions or clauses that put you at risk before you’re legally bound.
The discharge of mortgage process must be commenced well before settlement. Your lender will require a discharge authority signed and lodged with them directly by you, and approximately 14 to 21 days to process the discharge.
Once you have filed your discharge authority with your lender, we liaise with the lender to arrange settlement and obtain a payout figure. Managing these lender requirements is an important part of conveyancing for sellers Brisbane, particularly where a mortgage needs to be discharged before settlement. If there is a delay with your lender for settlement, we manage extension requests with the buyer’s solicitor to keep the contract on foot.
Most standard REIQ contracts also include a settlement extension clause. Either party can extend settlement by a total of 5 business days by written notice given before 4:00 PM on the scheduled settlement date. The 5 days are a single pool attached to the contract, not 5 days per party, and they can be used in one block or incrementally (for example, three separate one day extensions).
If settlement does not occur by 4:00 PM on the fifth business day after the original settlement date, the party who has failed to settle will be in default. The non-defaulting party can then terminate the contract and pursue remedies including, in the case of a defaulting buyer, forfeiture of the deposit. The extension right is a safety net for ordinary delays, not an indefinite breathing space.
Contracts signed at auction are unconditional. There is no cooling off period, no finance condition, and no opportunity for the buyer to renegotiate after the hammer falls.
This makes the seller’s disclosure obligations critical. The Form 2 must be given to bidders before they sign, and registered bidders must have access to the disclosure documentation in advance of the auction.
We prepare auction contracts and the Form 2 in the lead up to auction and ensure compliance with the disclosure obligations.
Where the property is tenanted, the tenancy must be disclosed in the Form 2 and Contract. If the buyer is purchasing as an investment, the lease transfers to the buyer at settlement.
If the buyer requires vacant possession, the tenancy must be properly ended in accordance with the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld). The notice periods are strict. We advise on the steps and timing required.
Body corporate disclosure adds an additional layer to the sale of a unit, townhouse or villa in a community titles scheme.
We obtain the Body Corporate Information Certificate, verify the disclosure of statutory warranties on latent and patent defects, and address any body corporate disputes or proposed special levies that need to be brought to the buyer’s attention.
Sellers should be aware that the disclosure obligations on common property defects extend to defects the seller knows about, including any matters that emerged during their period of ownership. A defect raised in past body corporate minutes is not something the seller can quietly leave unaddressed.
Vacant land sales are typically less complex than improved property sales but still trigger Form 2 disclosure. Particular attention is given to statutory encumbrances, easements, planning constraints, infrastructure access rights, and contamination register entries where the land has had prior commercial or industrial use.
Since 1 January 2022, all Queensland properties sold or leased must have interconnected, photoelectric, hard-wired (or 10-year lithium battery) smoke alarms installed in specified locations.
Smoke alarm compliance is a statutory obligation on the seller. Non-compliance does not generally entitle the buyer to terminate, but it does give the buyer the right to claim an adjustment at settlement based on the cost of bringing the property into compliance.
Where the property has a pool that is regulated under the Building Act 1975 (Qld), a current pool safety certificate must be in place at settlement.
If you do not have a current certificate, you must give the buyer a Form 36 Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate before the contract is signed. The buyer can then take responsibility for obtaining the certificate within 90 days of settlement, at their cost.
From 1 January 2025, every seller of taxable Australian real property must obtain an ATO clearance certificate before settlement, regardless of sale price or the seller’s residency status.
The application is free, lodged online with the ATO, and typically takes a few weeks to process. Once issued, the certificate is valid for 12 months.
Without a current clearance certificate, the buyer is required to withhold 15% of the sale price at settlement and remit it to the ATO.
We arrange the clearance certificate application as part of our standard service.
Understanding the risks involved in conveyancing when selling a house and challenges Brisbane homeowners can face is important, particularly where disclosure, mortgage discharge or compliance issues could delay settlement. The new disclosure regime has materially increased the risks of error in selling residential property. Common pitfalls include:
Our experienced conveyancing team is here to help you manage your property sale with clarity, professionalism, and reliable legal support from start to finish.
Our fees for standard residential sales are fixed. You will know the fee in writing before you engage us.
Sellers typically incur the cost of the mortgage discharge fee charged by the outgoing lender. Stamp duty does not apply to sellers; it is paid by the buyer on the transfer.
These cover the title search, body corporate information certificate (where applicable), pool safety certificate (where applicable), ATO clearance certificate application, and any other prescribed searches required to support the Form 2 Sellers Disclosure. We charge these to you at the cost of the search provider.
