New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CONVEYANCING ACT 1919 - SECT 52A

52A Contracts for sale of land

(1) Except in so far as the regulations may otherwise provide, this section applies to contracts for the sale of any land, including land subject to the provisions of the Real Property Act 1900 , the Crown Lands Consolidation Act 1913 or any other Act and irrespective of whether or not any such Act makes provision for or with respect to the conveyance or transfer of land.

(2) A vendor under a contract for the sale of land:

(a) shall, before the contract is signed by or on behalf of the purchaser, attach to the contract such documents, or copies of such documents, as may be prescribed, and

(b) shall be deemed to have included in the contract such terms, conditions and warranties as may be prescribed.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act (whether assented to before, on or after the commencement of the Conveyancing (Amendment) Act 1985 ) or any other law, where a vendor attaches to a contract for the sale of land a certificate or other document, or a copy of a certificate or other document, issued, on or before the date of the contract, to the vendor or to a person on the vendor’s behalf by a government department, a statutory authority, the council of a local government area or a prescribed person or body, being a document:

(a) which is, or a copy of which is, required to be attached to the contract pursuant to subsection (2) (a),

(b) which contains information consistent with the provisions of a term, condition or warranty prescribed as referred to in subsection (2) (b), or

(c) which contains information which has caused the vendor to make a specific disclosure in the contract in relation to any such term, condition or warranty,

the purchaser or a mortgagee of the purchaser shall have and may exercise, in relation to the certificate or document, the rights, powers and immunities that the purchaser or mortgagee would have had if the certificate or document had been issued to the purchaser or mortgagee.

(4) Except in so far as the regulations may otherwise provide, a provision, whether in a contract for the sale of land or any other agreement:

(a) which purports to exclude, modify or restrict any provision of this section or a regulation made for the purposes of this section, or

(b) which would, but for this subsection, have the effect of excluding, modifying or restricting any such provision,

is void.

(5) The regulations may provide that subsection (2) or any provision of that subsection shall not apply to or in respect of:

(a) a prescribed vendor or a vendor of a prescribed class or description,

(b) a prescribed contract or a contract of a prescribed class or description, or

(c) prescribed land or land of a prescribed class or description.

(6) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the remedies and relief available to a purchaser under a contract for the sale of land and the penalties which may be incurred by a vendor under such a contract:

(a) for any failure or refusal to comply with any of the provisions of this section or the regulations made for the purposes of this section, and

(b) for any breach of a term, condition or warranty deemed to be included in the contract under this section.

(7) Without limiting the generality of subsection (6), the remedies and relief may include remedies and relief by way of rescission of the contract by the purchaser and the payment of compensation by the vendor.

(8) The regulations may provide that a term, condition or warranty prescribed as referred to in subsection (2) (b) shall not merge in the transfer or conveyance on completion of the contract.

(9) The regulations:

(a) may require the inclusion in contracts for the sale of land of terms, conditions and warranties prescribed as referred to in subsection (2) (b), and

(b) may require the attachment to contracts for the sale of land of notices or other documents.

(10) This section binds the Crown.