New Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 to commence on 1 September 2022
The Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 will commence on 1 September 2022, and will replace the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2017.
The new Regulation continues to support the Conveyancing Act 1919 by setting out disclosure obligations for vendors in conveyancing transactions conducted through contracts for the sale of land (including off the plan) and options for the purchase of residential property. It also provides purchasers with remedies including the right to rescind contracts within a certain time if disclosure obligations are not met.
What’s changing?
The Regulation has been amended to simplify its structure and readability. It introduces minor changes only, including:
- For contracts arising from certain options:
- to clarify the disclosure requirements for contracts arising from options to purchase land; and
- to confirm that a cooling off period does not apply to contracts arising from 'put options', so that these documents are treated in the same way as for contracts arising from 'call options'.
- The Regulation makes updates to modernise language and removes outdated legislative references (including within the prescribed warning notices and prescribed form of cooling off notices, although the substance of these notices has not changed).
The Regulation does not introduce any new disclosure requirements.
When do the changes apply?
The Regulation will commence on 1 September 2022, but includes a 6-month transitional period. From 1 September until 28 February 2023, anything done in connection with a contract that complies with the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2017 will be taken to comply with the 2022 Regulation. This transitional provision will assist in circumstances where contracts that have been prepared before 1 September 2022 are not exchanged until shortly after the new Regulation commences.
More information
The Regulation has been published on the official NSW legislation website.
For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar General on [email protected].