Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Sale of Land Act 1962 - SECT 29W

Legal practitioner not to act for both vendor and purchaser under a terms contract

29W. Legal practitioner not to act for both vendor and purchaser under a terms
contract



(1) A legal practitioner whose principal place of business is within a 50
kilometre radius of the intersection of Elizabeth and Bourke Streets in
Melbourne must not act for both vendor and purchaser under a terms contract.

Penalty: 60 penalty units.

(2) If a legal practitioner is prohibited under subsection (1) from acting for
one party to a terms contract, a legal practitioner who is in partnership with
that legal practitioner, or any person employed by that legal practitioner
must not act for that party.

Penalty: 60 penalty units.

(3) If a legal practitioner contravenes this section, the purchaser for whom
the practitioner has acted may rescind the contract at any time before the
purchaser becomes entitled to possession or to the receipt of rents and
profits.

(4) Despite subsection (3), the purchaser may not rescind the contract if the
court is satisfied that-

   (a)  the legal practitioner has acted honestly and reasonably and ought
        fairly to be excused for the contravention; and

   (b)  the purchaser is substantially in as good a position as if all the
        relevant provisions of this section had been complied with.

(5) Any provision in any contract for the sale of land or other document under
which any provision of this section is excluded, modified or rescinded is
void.

(6) This section does not apply if any of the parties to the transaction are
related to each other.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6) a person is related to another person
if the first-mentioned person is-

   (a)  the spouse, domestic partner, brother, sister, parent, child,
        grand-parent, grand-child, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece; or

   (b)  the spouse or domestic partner of a brother, sister, parent, child,
        grand-parent, grand-child, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece-

of the second-mentioned person. _______________