Sustainability declaration on property sales

The Queensland Government will introduce a sustainability declaration for residential property sales from 1 January 2010.

The sustainability declaration is a compulsory checklist that must be completed by the property seller of a house, townhouse (class 1a buildings) or unit (class 2 building). The declaration is designed to inform buyers about the sustainability features of a property and increase community awareness of the value of
such features.

The declaration identifies the dwelling’s environmental and social sustainability features in four key areas: 

• energy; 
• water; 
• access; and 
• safety.

The sustainability declaration does not form part of the contract of sale and buyers cannot terminate a contract on the basis of information contained in the declaration.

However, if a buyer purchased a property and the sustainability declaration was found to be false or misleading or prepared without reasonable skill and care, the seller may be liable to
compensate the buyer for the loss or expense (for example, where a seller claims that ceiling insulation is installed and it is not).

Further information is available from the Queensland Government website at http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/sustainable-housing/sustainability-declaration.html