Property developers in NSW are forging ahead with off-the-plan apartment sales despite the Building Commissioner requiring them to fix or monitor defects that potential buyers are required to be advised about by real estate agents.
In response, real estate agents have said they’ve not been informed of how the new rules work or how to find the orders to correct defects, which covers the presence of asbestos at for-sale properties.
In NSW, agents are required to disclose to prospective buyers any defects that agents are aware of or that they ought to know about.
NSW Real Estate Institute CEO Tim McGibbon has said that the NSW government “do a particularly poor job of informing agents in the field of their obligations when things like this change”, leaving them liable for not disclosing material issues they know about or “ought to know”.
“The agent is expected to search the loose-fill asbestos register, and if they find a property there, they must disclose that to a prospective buyer,” Mr McGibbon said.
The issue is that many agents aren’t aware of where to go to acquire information on asbestos-related defects, including whether the home was part of the Voluntary Purchase and Demolition Program for homes affected by loose-fill asbestos.
REINSW recommends that for optimal protections for owners and agents alike, expert assessors are utilised, and where possible, order an asbestos report, often at the expense of the prospective buyer.