Updated agreement for sale and purchase of real estate

Recent changes to the widely used Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Real Estate prepared by the Auckland District Law Society and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand include:

• When selling an apartment or other Unit Title property, the vendor warrants (promises) that the information provided in the pre-contract disclosure statement is correct.

• The vendor also warrants that all plant, equipment, systems or devices which provide any services or amenities to the property (such as security, heating, cooling, or air conditioning) will be delivered to the purchaser in reasonable working order.

• A breach of warranty can already give rise to compensation. The agreement now clarifies that a claim for compensation must be made on or before the last working day before settlement.

• The definition of a working day has been extended to allow an additional 10 days for a purchaser to approve a Land Information Memorandum (LIM) if the LIM condition would otherwise have fallen due over the Christmas/New Year period. This is to tie in with the definition of “working day” under the legislation governing the issue of LIM reports.