On 1 July 2018, a new House and Land Contract Version 15 and a new contract for Residential Lots in a Community Titles Scheme Version 11 were released. It is recommended that these new versions of the contracts are used from 1 July 2018.
The most significant changes to the contract for Houses and Residential Land are:
· GST Withholding at settlement
· The reference schedule has been updated with a new section for the ‘GST withholding at settlement measures’ which commence from 1 July 2018. The buyer must answer the question “is the buyer registered for GST and acquiring the Land for a creditable purpose?” The buyer must also warrant that the information regarding the GST withholding is true and correct in clause 2.5 (6).
· The seller must give notice to the buyer prior to or at the time of entering into the contract as to whether the buyer is required to make a payment under the Withholding Law in relation to the supply of the property. If the withholding Law applies, the seller is required to give further information to the buyer prior to settlement.
· A warning has been added to advise that all sellers of ‘residential premises’ or ‘potential residential land’ that they are required to complete this notice. Withholding Law applies to the sale of new residential premises of potential residential land and requires an amount to be withheld from the Purchase price and paid to the ATO.
· ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE
·Signature panels have been updated to include changes to assist parties wishing to sign the contract by Electronic Signature.
· Contract updated so that initials are not required if signed by electronic signature.
· SIGNING IN COUNTERPARTS
· Contract updated so that the contract can be signed in counterparts and for the counterpart to be signed in electronic form.
To ensure consistency, the Contracts for Lots in a Community title Scheme (11th version) have incorporated similar amendments to those referred above.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries regarding the new changes.
