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Bush to Beach Legal

Queensland Property Laws 2024: What You Need to Know

Throughout 2023 and 2024, Queensland will implement significant changes to its property laws through the introduction of the Property Law Act 2023. This new legislation will replace the outdated Property Law Act 1974 and is designed to modernise and simplify property transactions in the state. If you are a home buyer or seller looking to take action in 2024, it’s important to be aware of the new property laws Queensland so you can understand the best path into your new home. The right legal and conveyancing team will help you navigate these laws, but it is impossible to know the help you need without first recognising your obligations.

Why are these changes being made?

Queensland is an incredibly desirable place to live, and during COVID, people from all across Australia and the world took notice of that. We have seen an influx of new residents that exacerbated the already tight housing market. The new regulation changes are not going to fix all of the issues that we face, but they do aim to create a more modern approach that increases transparency for buyers and sellers.

Key Changes to Queensland Property Laws:

Seller Disclosure Obligation

In late 2023, Queensland introduced changes to seller disclosure obligations, instructing sellers to provide a comprehensive disclosure statement to buyers before the contract is signed. This includes vital information about the property such as title details, planning and zoning, rates, water accounts, building work, environmental issues, and more.

Failure to provide this disclosure, or providing inaccurate information, gives buyers the right to terminate the contract before settlement. If you are a Queensland home buyer 2024, this new law will provide you with increased transparency around the state of the home you’re buying, making the old adage of ‘buyer beware’ much less scary.

If you’re a seller, you will need to factor this obligation in as you prepare to sell your home. It will take time to gather up the documentation and you may need to pay a small fee to local bodies to access the information. A Queensland conveyancer will help ensure that you have met your obligations and have all the right legal documentation sorted as you prepare to sell your home.

Changes to Stamp Duty

Prior to 2024, first home buyers were able to have stamp duty costs waived for home purchases up to $500,000. In June 2024, Queensland stamp duty concession was raised to $700,000, with partial concessions offered for purchases up to $800,000. Stamp duty is a tax that can cost buyers thousands of dollars, so as a first home buyer, it is worth being aware of this change if your budget is anything below $800,000.

Changes to Energy Requirements

Significant environmental laws have come into place that will affect 2024 home buyers and sellers. The most relevant of which for residential home buyers and sellers are the retroactive standards for existing properties, or the residential energy efficiency standards Queensland. Sellers now need to complete and provide an energy audit of their home to potential buyers. This allows buyers more insight into the energy usage of their prospective home, and is once again in service of greater transparency.

This audit will then assist new homeowners with the second change, which is incentives for energy-efficient home upgrades. Assistance including grants and low-interest loans have been introduced to make things like installing solar panels, upgrading insulation, and energy-efficient appliance upgrades more accessible.

Changes to climate risk disclosures

As we begin to see more and more climate change related disasters take place in Queensland, as well as across Australia, and the world, understanding the risk associated with your home’s location is becoming increasingly important. With the 2024 changes to climate risk disclosures in property, sellers will now be required to disclose any known climate risks associated with the home. This is to ensure buyers are aware of safety considerations, but also so that you can assess any financial risks, like insurability and home value.

As so many of our towns and cities are located in coastal areas, it is worth drawing particular attention to the mandatory disclosure rules around coastal erosion. Buyers will now have access to information around the potential impacts of sea-level rise and coastal erosion. This includes historical data on erosion rates, projections for future changes, and any existing protective measures in place.

Easement Enforcement

In another push towards increased transparency, Queensland easement enforcement laws 2024 have changed to clarify the rights and responsibilities of property owners and easement holders, streamline dispute resolution, and enhance compliance.

An easement is the legal right that allows you to use someone else’s property for specific reasons like installing utilities or maintaining drains. The 2024 easement enforcement changes encompass:

  • Mandatory disclosure, requiring sellers to disclose existing easements more clearly during the sale process.
  • Strengthened enforcement mechanisms, providing clearer guidelines on what constitutes a breach of easement terms and making it easier for courts to rule on disputes.
  • Simplified dispute resolution, introducing a more streamlined process for resolving easement disputes, including mandatory mediation before court proceedings.
  • Digital registration and documentation, requiring easements to be registered through a digital system, improving the accuracy and accessibility of records.
  • Environmental considerations will protect natural resources and ensure sustainable land use. These easements come with specific enforcement provisions that align with Queensland’s broader environmental protection goals.

Changes to Foreign Ownership Laws

Foreign investment in Australian residential property has long been seen as a major contributing factor in the housing crisis and in 2024, Queensland has taken action to make foreign investment more difficult and costly, giving local buyers a level of preferential access to homes. 

These changes include increasing surcharges and taxes, stricter compliance and oversight, and restrictions on the number of residential properties that a foreign buyer can purchase. This is all in service of a broader strategy to prioritise local buyers in the property market, including initiatives to increase the supply of affordable housing and reduce competition from foreign investors.

What these changes mean if you’re selling a property in Queensland

If you are about to put your home on the market, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed after reading all of this. There is a lot more obligation on sellers as a result of these changes to provide disclosures which can be time-consuming and potentially costly to collect. Being aware of the new requirements is a great first step in ensuring you meet the new obligations.

Selling your home successfully is made much easier with the help of the right people in your corner and this should include a conveyancer. A local Queensland conveyancing professional will be familiar with your obligations and the recent changes to those obligations to ensure that your home’s sale goes smoothly, even as laws and regulations continue to evolve.

What these changes mean if you’re buying property in Queensland

The changes we’ve discussed are almost all designed to aid buyers, giving you more information and transparency about the home that you are buying. The problem, however, is how much technical documentation you may feel expected to comb through so that you can make the right decision around your purchase.

For Queensland first home buyers especially, it can be tricky to wade through the additional help that you may be eligible to receive as it continues to change and can be subject to the value of the home, if it’s a new build, and so many other considerations.

This, once again, is where having the right team in your corner can help you enormously throughout this process. In 2024, Queensland conveyancing teams can help you wade through all of the documentation that you will be provided to ensure that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Getting professional help from conveyancing lawyers in Queensland

Property laws and regulations are being updated all the time, with new obligations and rules for buyers and sellers. 2024 has been a big year for changes, but with the upcoming Queensland election, we predict that the rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon.

At Bush to Beach Legal, our team of legal and conveyancing professionals help people navigate these changes to Queensland property legislation every day. Our job is to stay up-to-date with the evolving regulations to help local buyers and sellers remain compliant and informed as they move through the process. We offer affordable fixed-fee conveyancing in Queensland that will help you navigate your transaction without the hassle. Reach out to us today to see how we can help you with buying or selling your home.

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