Body Corporate Disclosure Statements, who should sign them?

It is not unusual for an agent to negotiate a sale of a property in a body corporate scheme, to suddenly realize when preparing the contract that they don’t have a disclosure statement signed by the seller.

Do you have to get the seller to sign the disclosure statement before moving forward or is there a way round the problem?

Under the previous forms (called a section 206 notice) it had the words "seller/seller’s agent" under the signature line. Everyone assumed that the real estate agent could sign on behalf of the seller although the recommended course was to always have the seller sign.

The new forms don’t have the words “seller’s agent” anymore.

So has the legislation changed?

The rules have not changed and the change of the form hasn’t changed the way the form may be signed.

Section 205D allows anything to be done under the Body Corporate and Community Titles Act by the seller, to also be done by their authorized agent.

A recent court case where the solicitor argued that could sign on behalf of the seller ruled that the solicitor needed a formal appointment before they could sign the section 206 notice. The same logic would apply to real estate agents. So an agent should have some type of authorization before they sign the section 206 notice. An email or text message authorizing the agent to sign the form would be sufficient.

Therefore if you get stuck I suggest you simply ring the seller and ask them to send you an email or text authorizing you to sign the form. Best policy will of course be to have the seller sign the form.

For further information please contact Roland Taylor on 0417 605 185 or rtaylor@swc.net.au.