A couple contacted a real estate agent about selling their apartment in a unit-titled apartment block.  The agent told them their Body Corporate would need to help them put together and sign a “Pre-Contract Disclosure Statement” before they sold the property. They weren’t sure what this was, or what they were meant to disclose.

The disclosure requirements under the Unit Titles Act 2010 allow for three types of disclosure:

Pre-Contract Disclosure Statement (compulsory) – this is a statement that needs to be signed by the Vendor prior to an Agreement for Sale and Purchase being signed.  This includes general information about unit titles, as well as information specific to your unit, including levies, any weather-tightness claims in relation to the unit or common property, and amounts held in the Body Corporate’s various accounts.

Pre-Settlement Disclosure Statement (compulsory) – this is issued by the Body Corporate within 5 working days of settlement and shows the period levies are paid until, any amounts owing to the Body Corporate etc.  The Body Corporate organises this.

Additional Disclosure Statement (only at the request of the Purchaser – at the Purchaser’s cost) – This is a statement recording additional information like contact details for the Body Corporate committee, any contracts the Body Corporate has entered into etc.

If anything in the Pre-Contract Disclosure Statement changes between the date you signed it and settlement (e.g. if an AGM is held and the levies for the following year are set), then you need to issue a ‘correcting statement’.

Your legal advisor and Body Corporate will help you through the process to make sure you, and the Body Corporate, meet your obligations.