Pool compliance and house sales a reminder for agents

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) is reminding residential real estate sales agents about sellers’ responsibilities when properties with a regulated pool are sold.

The seller must give the purchaser either a pool safety certificate or a Form 36 Notice of No Pool Safety Certificate prior to entering into a contract.

This is a legal requirement under s 246ATF Building Act 1975 and a contractual requirement under the REIQ Contracts for the sale of residential property.

A Form 36 may be applicable where:

• a pool safety certificate has expired, and the seller does not intend to have it re-issued before the sale; or
• a pool safety certificate has not been issued.

The form advises that the pool may not comply with the pool safety standard and the steps that must be undertaken by the pool owner to comply. This allows prospective buyers to make a more informed decision about purchasing the property.

Importantly, the seller must provide a copy of the Form 36 to the QBCC and the purchaser prior to settlement. Penalties of up to $23,718.75 may apply for noncompliance. 

Why sellers are not providing the Form 36 to the QBCC

During a recent compliance review, the QBCC says it has found that sellers are usually not aware of this obligation nor the penalties, nor are they being informed by their solicitors or sales agents.

Sellers will generally rely on their solicitor and sales agent to take care of the necessary paperwork to formalise the sale of their property. The QBCC has found that sellers are being told by their solicitors and sales agents that all paperwork is being taken care of, when unfortunately this is not the case for the relevant pool safety forms.

When querying this further, sales agents and solicitors advised the QBCC that they too were not aware of the seller’s obligation to provide the Form 36 to the QBCC as well as the buyer.

In almost every case, agents and solicitors are correctly providing the Form 36 to the buyer but have not provided a copy to the QBCC.

For more information on the rules surrounding pools during the sale of a property, you can click here.