Seller Disclosure Statements – Beware the Limitations of the Related Parties Exemption!
The Property Law Act 2023 has recently passed in parliament which makes it a requirement from 1 August 2025, for sellers of real property in Queensland to provide a signed Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement and the Prescribed Certificates to the proposed Buyers of the property, prior to a contract of sale being signed by the Buyer.
There is no ability to waive the right to a seller disclosure statement, except where the seller and the buyer are ‘related parties’ for the purposes of the Property Law Act 2023.
BEWARE! The definition of ‘related parties’ for seller disclosure statements is not as wide as you might think…
Related parties are defined by section 96 of the Property Law Act 2023 as follows: -
(1) The buyer of a lot and the seller of a lot are related if—
(a) for a seller who is an individual—
(i) the buyer is a relative of the seller; or
(ii) the buyer is in a partnership under the Partnership Act 1891 with the seller; or
(iii) the buyer is a corporation of which the seller is a director or member; or
(iv) the buyer is a related body corporate of a corporation of which the seller is a director or member; or
(b) for a seller that is a corporation—
(i) the buyer is a related body corporate; or
(ii) if the seller is a corporation other than a listed corporation—the buyer is a director or member of the corporation or of a related body corporate.
A ‘relative’ of a seller who is an individual means a person who is: -
(a) a parent, step-parent or grandparent of the seller; or
(b) a sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling of the seller; or
(c) an uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or cousin of the seller; or
(d) a child, step-child or grandchild of the seller; or
(e) a spouse of the seller; or
(f) if the seller has a spouse—a person who is a relative, of the type mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (d), of the seller’s spouse; or
(g) if the seller is an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander—a person who is a relative, of the type mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (f), of the seller under Aboriginal tradition or Island custom.
There are two very notable absences from the definition of ‘relative’ in the Property Law Act 2023, and they are: -
- The spouse of a child of the seller; and
- The spouse of a sibling of the seller.
This means that if a parent is selling a property to their child and their child’s spouse, a seller disclosure statement is still required!
Likewise, if a person is selling a property to their sibling and their siblings spouse, a seller disclosure statement is still required.
The legislation applies such that every seller needs to be related to every buyer for the related party exemption to apply.
Still not sure if the related party exemption applies?
Contact Riley Rupp of MobbsMarr Legal on (07) 4417 4417 for further information.