We occasionally see situations where a seller has a change of mind either because the seller has received a better offer or the seller has decided that he/she did not want to sell the property after all.

The seller then poses the question “can I get out of the contract?”

Once the contract has been validly signed by both parties, then the seller (and the buyer) are committed to the contract.

If the seller has a change of mind then, generally speaking, the seller is reliant upon the actions of the buyer in having an avenue out of the contract.

Many contracts are subject to conditions that the buyer must fulfil in order for the contract to become unconditional.

The most common conditions will be the building and pest condition and the finance condition.

Queensland contracts contain (or should contain) a provision that time is of the essence.

This means that the contractual conditions must be fulfilled strictly in accordance with the time limits provided in the contract.

If a buyer fails to adhere to these conditions within the prescribed time limits then the buyer may be handing the seller the opportunity to get out of the contract.

Another condition that must be strictly adhered to is the payment of the deposit.

Once again, this condition must be strictly adhered to otherwise the buyer may be giving the seller grounds to terminate the contract.

This analysis is general only and does not govern all contracts as each contract will need to be assessed on its own terms.

However, this analysis shows that buyers need to be conscious of the strict time limits in Queensland contracts and sellers need to be aware of their rights should a buyer not abide by his/her obligations.

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This article was originally posted on the 31^st of July 2020. It was last updated on the 19th of September 2022.