Every week we are asked to review a Queensland residential contract that has already been signed. Sometimes we can fix the issue we find. Sometimes we cannot. Pre-signing review is one of the few moments in a property transaction where the buyer or seller has real leverage — and it usually costs less than the building & pest inspection.
Here is the checklist we run through before we let a client sign a standard REIQ Contract for the Sale of Houses and Residential Land (the 18th edition is the current form at the time of writing).
The reference schedule — page 1
Most contract problems live in the reference schedule. We check every field.
- —Seller and Buyer names — must match the title and the buyer's intended structure (individual, company, trust). Getting this wrong can trigger double duty.
- —Property description — lot on plan, address, included and excluded items. Pool equipment, garden sheds, dishwashers and curtains all live or die in this section.
- —Contract Date — the contract is dated when the last party signs. Time periods run from this date.
- —Settlement Date — typically 30 days after contract date for standard residential. We confirm this aligns with your finance approval timing.
- —Deposit — initial deposit (usually 0.25% on contract) and balance deposit (commonly 5–10% on finance approval). Watch for traps where 'balance' deposit is due on contract.
The finance condition
Clause 3 of the standard REIQ contract makes settlement subject to the buyer obtaining finance approval on satisfactory terms by the Finance Date. Two things to check:
- —Finance Date — usually 14 to 21 days after contract date. Talk to your broker before locking this in. A short finance period that you miss can void your protection.
- —'Satisfactory terms' — the buyer is the judge of what's satisfactory. But the buyer must act reasonably and notify the seller in writing if finance is not approved.
Building & pest condition
Clause 4 makes settlement subject to a satisfactory building & pest inspection by the Inspection Date — typically 7 to 14 days from contract date. If the report is unsatisfactory, the buyer can terminate or negotiate.
We see two common errors: an inspection period that is too short to get a reputable inspector booked, and special conditions that water down the buyer's right to terminate (for example, requiring the issue to be 'major structural' rather than 'reasonably unsatisfactory').
Special conditions
This is where deals are won and lost. Typical special conditions we negotiate in or out include:
- —Subject to sale of buyer's existing property
- —Subject to satisfactory due diligence (commercial and off-the-plan)
- —Vendor's warranties about non-disclosed defects
- —Sunset dates for off-the-plan and conditional contracts
- —Restraint of trade clauses for business sales attached to property
Disclosures — Form 6, Form 24 and friends
Queensland contracts often come with disclosure statements (smoke alarm, pool safety, body corporate, sustainability declaration). Missing or defective disclosure can give the buyer a termination right — and is one of the more technical traps for sellers.
The two-day rule for buyers
Residential buyers (other than at auction or where waived) have a five business day statutory cooling-off period under Part 9 of the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld). The buyer can terminate during this period and forfeit only 0.25% of the purchase price. But the period is short and runs from the day the buyer receives the signed contract — don't rely on it as a substitute for pre-signing review.
If you are about to sign — or you have just received a contract from an agent — a same-day legal review is almost always worth it. The fee is fixed, the turnaround is short, and the alternative is finding the problem after you cannot walk away.
