Body Corporate, Case Study, Industry Publication
DIY law a risky path with hallucinating AI
Article by Frank Higginson
Current as at November 4, 2025
New regulations that require vendors to disclose full information to property buyers come into effect in Queensland from 1 August 2025, with many potential sellers not aware of what the new regime entails.
Redchip Lawyers and Redchip Strata Law Director, Rob Lalor, said that while the new legislation had been on the books for two years, its go-live date was likely to catch some industry players by surprise.
“We’ve talked to a lot of agents around this new regime and up until about a month ago, it would be one out of every two who didn’t know that this legislation was coming up. So it’s going to be an interesting few months,” he said.
“We think it’ll probably be more of a ripple than a big wave, but that big wave will come when the market turns in the other direction. That’s when your commissions are going to be at risk because you’re going to have deals potentially fall over or at the very least become really elongated because vendors aren’t complying with the legislative requirements.”
The changes to the Property Law Act are some of the biggest reforms to property law in decades.
Vendors who fail to meet all the disclosure requirements may give a buyer the right to terminate a contract.
For strata schemes, sellers must provide buyers with a body corporate certificate that contains details on levies, insurance coverage, whether there are any outstanding contributions or body corporate debts for a lot, as well as information about how body corporate expenses are shared between owners.
Mr Lalor said the new requirements were unlikely to cause too many issues in a buoyant market when sellers and buyers were keen to finalise a deal.
However, when the market turns, vendors who are not careful to meet all the requirements could give anxious buyers a reason to exit a deal.
“It’s really a case of being aware of what your obligations are,” Mr Lalor said.
“It’s important to understand that you’ve now got heavy obligations as a vendor to a buyer, and if you don’t get this right, you’re leaving the door open for a buyer to walk away from your contract.”
Anyone needing advice about what the new regulations mean for their business or for a potential sale should get in contact with the teams at Redchip Lawyers or Redchip Strata Law to discuss the situation.
People often tell us that we don’t seem like lawyers. We make a point to have real conversations with our clients in everyday language. At our core, we know that success is built on relationships.
