Sale of land - QLD

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland and Queensland Law Society have released updated versions of their standard contracts for the sale of land. The updated sale of land contracts are:

• Contract for Houses and Residential Land (18th edition),
• Contract for Residential Lots in a Community Titles Scheme (14th edition),
• Contract for Commercial Land and Buildings (10th edition), and
• Contract for Commercial Lots in a Community Titles Scheme (9th edition).

The sale of land contracts are now fully aligned with the Queensland electronic conveyancing mandate which came into effect on 20 February 2023 under the Land Title Regulation 2022. It requires all property transactions in Queensland to be conducted electronically. To comply with the new mandate, the updated contracts feature significant changes to clause 11, the electronic settlements clause. This is now more detailed and comprehensive, ensuring all parties involved in a property transaction are aware of their obligations when it comes to electronic settlements. Specifically:

• The requirement for electronic settlements is compulsory under the Land Title Regulation 2022, which defines transfers as a necessary instrument, with exemptions. The first exemption is for transfers dated before 20 February 2023, but does not extend to the contract itself. The second exemption applies where one of the parties involved in the required instrument is neither a subscriber to an Electronic Lodgment Network nor represented by a legal practitioner.
• Clause 11 outlines the process for nominating an Electronic Lodgment Network system by the seller.
• The option for parties to switch from electronic settlement to a manual paper settlement has been removed, and unless an exemption applies the parties are obliged to settle electronically.
• The definition of Qualifying Conveyancing Transaction that was included in previous versions of the contract has been omitted.
• Clause 10.4(9) in the Contract for Houses and Residential Land (18th edition) has been added to clarify that a message sent using an Electronic Lodgment Network in an electronic conveyancing environment does not constitute a notice for the purposes of the contract. The sole exception being the nomination of an Electronic Lodgment Network by accepting or issuing an invitation through an Electronic Lodgment Network system: clause 11.2(2) in the Contract for Houses and Residential Land (18th edition).
• Certain definitions relating to electronic settlement have been relocated from clause 11 to the definitions clause, being clause 1.

The By Lawyers publications Purchase of Real Property (QLD), Sale of Real Property (QLD), and 1001 Conveyancing Answers (QLD) have been updated accordingly.