{"id":"sale-of-land-act-1970","name":"Sale of Land Act 1970","slug":"sale-of-land-act-1970","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":113009,"registerId":"wa-sale-of-land-act-1970-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Sale of Land Act 1970","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nSale of Land Act 1970\n\nWestern Australia\n\nSale of Land Act 1970\n\nContents\n\nPart I — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n5. Interpretation 2\n\nPart II — Sale of land under terms contract\n\n6. Restriction on rescission 4\n\n7. Notification of condition of title 4\n\n8. Limitation on encumbrances 5\n\n9. Power of Court on application for leave to encumber the land 5\n\n10. Remedy of purchaser on contravention by vendor 5\n\nPart III — Restrictions on sale of subdivisional land\n\n11. Interpretation 7\n\n13. Restriction on sale of subdivisional land 9\n\n13A. Relationship between section 13 and sections 13B to 13D 10\n\n13B. Requirement for future lot contract to include vendor’s condition 10\n\n13C. Requirement for future lot contract to include warning 11\n\n13D. Requirement for future lot contract to provide that deposit or other amount payable by purchaser must be paid to deposit holder 12\n\n13E. Obligations relating to deposit or other amount payable under future lot contract 13\n\n13F. Registrar of Titles may require audit of trust accounts 15\n\n13G. All reasonable endeavours must be made to satisfy vendor’s condition 15\n\n13H. Consequences if vendor’s condition is satisfied 16\n\n13I. Consequences if vendor’s condition is not satisfied or is taken not to have been satisfied 17\n\n14. Restriction on sale of mortgaged subdivisional land 17\n\n15. Exemptions 19\n\nPart IV — Offences in relation to sale of land\n\n16. Limitation on advertisement 21\n\n17. Misrepresentation concerning public amenity 21\n\n18. House to house selling prohibited 22\n\n19. Remedy of purchaser on contravention of s. 18 22\n\nPart IVA — Dealings in undivided shares in land\n\n19A. Interpretation, etc. 23\n\n19B. Certain offers to the public prohibited 25\n\n19C. Transitional provision 27\n\n19D. Rescission 28\n\nPart V — Application to the Court by vendor or purchaser\n\n20. Application to Court 29\n\nPart VI — Rules relating to title of general law land\n\n21. Application of this Part 30\n\n22. Thirty years title substituted for 40 years 30\n\n23. Rights of vendor and purchaser as to title 30\n\nPart VII — Transitional provisions for *Sale of Land Amendment Act 2016*\n\n24. Transitional provisions for *Sale of Land Amendment Act 2016* 32\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 33\n\nOther notes 35\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nSale of Land Act 1970\n\nAn Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the sale of land.\n\n## Part I — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Sale of Land Act 1970*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation.\n\n[**3.** Deleted: No. 10 of 1998 s. 76.]\n\n[**4.** Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(f).]\n\n##### 5. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  advertise includes —\n\n(a) issue, deliver, or publicly exhibit in writing; and\n\n(b) publish, or disseminate, by broadcasting, television, cinematograph, or any other means whatsoever,\n\nand with corresponding meanings also includes cause to be advertised;\n\n  advertisement includes corresponding meanings to “advertise”;\n\n  Court means the Supreme Court;\n\n  land includes land of any tenure and buildings or parts of buildings;\n\n  section means a section of this Act; and\n\n  terms contract means an executory contract for the sale and purchase of land under which the purchaser is —\n\n(a) obliged to make 2 or more payments to the vendor (over and above any deposit) before he is entitled to a conveyance or transfer of the land; or\n\n(b) entitled to possession or occupation of the land before he becomes entitled to a conveyance or transfer of the land,\n\nand for the purpose of this interpretation deposit includes any part of the purchase price which the contract specifies as being a deposit and provides is to be paid, whether by one or more payments, within 28 days of the execution of the contract.\n\n## Part II — Sale of land under terms contract\n\n##### 6. Restriction on rescission\n\n(1) Notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, a terms contract shall not be determined or rescinded on account of a breach by the purchaser of any term of the contract unless and until the vendor has served on the purchaser a notice in writing specifying the breach complained of and requiring the purchaser to remedy the breach within the time mentioned in subsection (2) and the purchaser has failed to do so.\n\n(2) The time referred to in subsection (1) within which the purchaser is required to remedy a breach is —\n\n(a) where the breach consists of a failure to pay a sum of money — a date stipulated by the vendor being a date not less than 28 days from the date of service of the notice; and\n\n(b) in any other case — a reasonable time from the date of service of the notice.\n\n##### 7. Notification of condition of title\n\n(1) Where it is proposed to sell land under a terms contract, the proposed vendor of the land shall, before the proposed purchaser of the land executes the contract, give notice in writing to him of any mortgage, encumbrance, lien, or charge on the land, and of any judgment, order or memorial that is entered in the Register within the meaning of the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* or that is otherwise registered against the land.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(2) In subsection (1) —\n\n  charge does not include rates or taxes charged on the land; and\n\n  notice in writing includes a statement that is clearly contained in the contract.\n\n[Section 7 amended: No. 81 of 1996 s. 153(1); No. 59 of 2004 s. 141; No. 38 of 2016 s. 4.]\n\n##### 8. Limitation on encumbrances\n\nA vendor of land under a terms contract shall not encumber the land by mortgage or otherwise unless —\n\n(a) within the period of 28 days before he does so, the purchaser of the land consented in writing thereto; or\n\n(b) the Court, on the application of the vendor pursuant to section 9, gives him leave to do so.\n\nPenalty: a fine of $100 000.\n\n[Section 8 amended: No. 38 of 2016 s. 5.]\n\n##### 9. Power of Court on application for leave to encumber the land\n\nA vendor of land under a terms contract may make an application to the Court by summons at chambers for leave to encumber the land by mortgage or otherwise and on the application the Court may make an order accordingly, subject to such conditions as are necessary to protect the interest of a purchaser under the contract.\n\n##### 10. Remedy of purchaser on contravention by vendor\n\nWhere a vendor of land under a terms contract contravenes section 7 or section 8, the purchaser of the land under the contract may, at any time prior to conveyance or the registration of a transfer of the land to the purchaser, but within one year of the purchaser becoming aware of the contravention, commence an action in the Court for the rescission of the contract, and the Court having regard to the equities of the case may exercise such discretion and make any such order as it could have exercised or made had it been alleged and established that the contract had been induced by fraudulent misrepresentation.\n\n## Part III — Restrictions on sale of subdivisional land\n\n##### 11. Interpretation\n\nIn this Part, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\nADI means an authorised deposit‑taking institution as defined in the *Banking Act 1959* (Commonwealth) section 5(1);\n\napproved form means a form approved by the Registrar of Titles;\n\ndeposit holder means a person —\n\n(a) who accepts or holds any deposit or other amount for and on behalf of one or more of the parties to a contract for the sale of land; and\n\n(b) who is any of the following —\n\n(i) a legal practitioner;\n\n(ii) a real estate agent;\n\n(iii) a settlement agent;\n\nfuture lot contract means an executory contract for the sale and purchase of one or more lots to be created by subdivision where the vendor is a person —\n\n(a) who is not the proprietor of the lot or lots to which the contract relates; but\n\n(b) who will become, or will be entitled to become, the proprietor of that lot or those lots;\n\nlot means —\n\n(a) a lot within the meaning of —\n\n(i) the *Planning and Development Act 2005*; or\n\n(ii) the *Community Titles Act 2018*; or\n\n(iii) the *Strata Titles Act 1985*;\n\nor\n\n(b) an area of land represented, by or on behalf of a person attempting to promote the sale of the area of land, to be an area of land that will constitute a lot in a subdivision or proposed subdivision;\n\n  proprietor has the same meaning as it has in section 4 of the *Transfer of Land Act 1893*;\n\nreal estate agent means a person who is licensed as a real estate agent under the *Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978*;\n\nRegistrar of Titles means the person designated for the time being as the Registrar of Titles under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* section 7;\n\n  sell includes —\n\n(a) for valuable consideration —\n\n(i) assign an interest in;\n\n(ii) assign the benefit of a contract relating to;\n\n(iii) confer a right to purchase, to acquire an interest in, or to acquire the benefit of a contract relating to;\n\nand\n\n(b) offer, hold oneself out or advertise as being willing, or agree to sell or, for valuable consideration, to do as mentioned in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii),\n\nand selling and sold include corresponding meanings;\n\nsettlement agent means a person who is licensed as a settlement agent under the *Settlement Agents Act 1981*;\n\nsubdivision means an area of land subdivided into lots;\n\nvendor’s condition has the meaning given in section 13B(1);\n\nworking day means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday.\n\n[Section 11 amended: No. 38 of 2005 s. 15; No. 38 of 2016 s. 6; No. 30 of 2018 s. 186; No. 32 of 2018 s. 244; No. 9 of 2022 s. 424.]\n\n[**12.** Deleted: No. 40 of 1985 s. 4.]\n\n##### 13. Restriction on sale of subdivisional land\n\n(1) A person who would, but for this Act, have the right to sell one or more lots in a subdivision or proposed subdivision shall not sell any of such lots unless —\n\n(a) he is the proprietor thereof;\n\n(b) he is selling as agent of the proprietor;\n\n[(c) deleted]\n\n(d) he is empowered by or under an Act to execute a transfer thereof that is registrable under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893*; or\n\n(e) he is presently entitled to become the proprietor of the lot.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(2) A person shall be deemed not to be presently entitled to become the proprietor of a lot unless he is, at the date he sells the lot, entitled to be registered as proprietor of it under one or more registrable instruments or under one or more applications made under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* which have been lodged with the Registrar of Titles.\n\n(3) For the purpose of this section an instrument or an application which was at the relevant time lodged as described in subsection (2) but was defective is to be taken to give as good an entitlement to be registered as proprietor as it would give if there were no defect in the instrument or application —\n\n(a) if the instrument has subsequently been registered or the application granted without having been returned by the Registrar of Titles or having been withdrawn from the registration process; or\n\n(b) if the Registrar of Titles certifies in writing that he is satisfied that the defect was not of a substantial nature and that it has been remedied.\n\n[Section 13 amended: No. 40 of 1985 s. 5; No. 81 of 1996 s. 153(1) and (2); No. 60 of 2006 s. 157; No. 38 of 2016 s. 7; No. 32 of 2018 s. 245.]\n\n##### 13A. Relationship between section 13 and sections 13B to 13D\n\nDespite section 13, a person may sell one or more lots under a future lot contract as long as sections 13B to 13D are complied with.\n\n[Section 13A inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13B. Requirement for future lot contract to include vendor’s condition\n\n(1) A future lot contract must include the condition (the vendor’s condition) that before the close of the period specified in subsection (2), the vendor will become, or will be entitled to become, the proprietor of the lot or lots to which the contract relates.\n\n(2) The period referred to in subsection (1) is —\n\n(a) the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the future lot contract is executed by the parties or, if the parties execute the contract on different days, the later of those days; or\n\n(b) any other period that the parties may specify in the future lot contract or in a variation to that contract as the applicable period for the purposes of subsection (1).\n\n(3) If a future lot contract does not include the vendor’s condition required under subsection (1) —\n\n(a) the contract is illegal and void; and\n\n(b) the purchaser may recover from the deposit holder specified in the contract or from any other person to whom the deposit was paid —\n\n(i) any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract; and\n\n(ii) if applicable, any interest accrued on the deposit or other amount.\n\n(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), a vendor is entitled to become the proprietor of the lot or lots to which the future lot contract relates if the vendor is entitled to be registered as proprietor of that lot or those lots under one or more registrable instruments or under one or more applications made under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893* which have been lodged with the Registrar of Titles.\n\n(5) An instrument or application that was at the relevant time lodged as described in subsection (4) but was defective is to be taken to give as good an entitlement to be registered as proprietor as it would give had there been no defect in the instrument or application if —\n\n(a) the instrument has subsequently been registered or the application granted without having been returned by the Registrar of Titles or having been withdrawn from the registration process; or\n\n(b) the Registrar of Titles certifies in writing that the defect was not of a substantial nature and that it has been remedied.\n\n(6) A vendor who enters into a future lot contract that does not include the vendor’s condition required under subsection (1) commits an offence.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n[Section 13B inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13C. Requirement for future lot contract to include warning\n\n(1) A future lot contract must include a warning that contains a statement to the effect that the vendor is not the proprietor of the lot or lots to which the contract relates.\n\n(2) The warning required under subsection (1) must be in the approved form.\n\n(3) If a future lot contract does not include the warning required under subsection (1) —\n\n(a) the contract is illegal and void; and\n\n(b) the purchaser may recover from the deposit holder specified in the contract or from any other person to whom the deposit was paid —\n\n(i) any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract; and\n\n(ii) if applicable, any interest accrued on the deposit or other amount.\n\n(4) A vendor who enters into a future lot contract that does not include the warning required under subsection (1) commits an offence.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n[Section 13C inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13D. Requirement for future lot contract to provide that deposit or other amount payable by purchaser must be paid to deposit holder\n\n(1) A future lot contract must provide that any deposit or other amount payable by the purchaser under the contract must be —\n\n(a) paid by the vendor to a deposit holder specified in the contract within 2 working days after receipt of the payment from the purchaser; and\n\n(b) held by the deposit holder on trust for the person entitled to receive it under the contract.\n\n(2) If a future lot contract does not include the provision required under subsection (1) —\n\n(a) the contract is illegal and void; and\n\n(b) the purchaser may recover from the deposit holder specified in the contract or from any other person to whom the deposit was paid —\n\n(i) any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract; and\n\n(ii) if applicable, any interest accrued on the deposit or other amount.\n\n[Section 13D inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13E. Obligations relating to deposit or other amount payable under future lot contract\n\n(1) A vendor must pay to the deposit holder specified in a future lot contract any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract within 2 working days after receipt of the payment from the purchaser.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(2) If a vendor fails to comply with subsection (1), the purchaser may —\n\n(a) terminate the contract by notice in writing to the vendor; and\n\n(b) recover from the deposit holder specified in the contract or from any other person to whom the deposit was paid —\n\n(i) any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract; and\n\n(ii) if applicable, any interest accrued on the deposit or other amount.\n\n(3) A deposit holder must —\n\n(a) operate a trust account in an ADI to which all deposits or other amounts paid to the deposit holder either directly by a purchaser or by a vendor under subsection (1) must be deposited; and\n\n(b) arrange for the trust account to be audited when required under section 13F(1); and\n\n(c) hold the amounts in the trust account on trust for the purchaser until —\n\n(i) the right to recover the deposit or other amount arises under subsection (2)(b), section 13B(3)(b), 13C(3)(b), 13D(2)(b) or 13I(4); or\n\n(ii) the settlement of the relevant future lot contract; or\n\n(iii) the completion of the transfer of the lot or lots to which the relevant future lot contract relates; or\n\n(iv) the occurrence of any other circumstance that would entitle the vendor or purchaser to be paid the deposit or other amount under the relevant future lot contract.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(4) A deposit holder must repay the deposit or other amount if the right to recover the deposit or other amount arises under any of the provisions referred to in subsection (3)(c)(i).\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(5) A deposit holder may deduct from any repayment to be made to the purchaser an amount due to the vendor under a future lot contract in respect of any period during which the purchaser was —\n\n(a) in occupation of the lot or lots to which the future lot contract relates; or\n\n(b) entitled to receive the rents and profits of that lot or those lots.\n\n[Section 13E inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13F. Registrar of Titles may require audit of trust accounts\n\n(1) The Registrar of Titles may from time to time require an audit of a deposit holder’s trust accounts for the purpose of determining compliance with the requirements in section 13E.\n\n(2) A deposit holder must comply with a requirement for an audit under subsection (1).\n\n(3) An audit under subsection (1) must be carried out by a person (whether in the public or private sector) who the Registrar of Titles considers to be suitably qualified for the purpose.\n\n(4) If the deposit holder whose trust accounts are to be audited fails to arrange for the audit, then the Registrar of Titles may —\n\n(a) engage a person (whether in the public or private sector) who the Registrar of Titles considers to be suitably qualified to carry out the audit; and\n\n(b) require the deposit holder or any other person to provide access to the deposit holder’s trust accounts and associated records for the purposes of the audit or, if access is refused within a reasonable time, apply to the Court for an order requiring access; and\n\n(c) recover from the deposit holder the costs incurred by the Registrar of Titles in relation to the audit (including the costs of an application, if required, for an order under paragraph (b)).\n\n[Section 13F inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13G. All reasonable endeavours must be made to satisfy vendor’s condition\n\n(1) A vendor and, if applicable, a purchaser must make all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the vendor can satisfy the vendor’s condition in a future lot contract.\n\n(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the vendor must make all reasonable endeavours before the expiry of the period specified in section 13B(2) to —\n\n(a) obtain the necessary regulatory approvals for the subdivision or proposed subdivision; and\n\n(b) create and lodge the necessary plans for the subdivision or proposed subdivision.\n\n(3) The vendor must give the purchaser reasonable information about the steps taken by or on behalf of the vendor to satisfy the vendor’s condition within a reasonable time after receipt of a written request for the information from the purchaser.\n\n(4) Despite any agreement to the contrary, the provisions of subsections (1) to (3) must be taken to form part of every future lot contract.\n\n[Section 13G inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13H. Consequences if vendor’s condition is satisfied\n\n(1) This section applies if the vendor’s condition in a future lot contract is satisfied.\n\n(2) If this section applies —\n\n(a) the vendor must give the purchaser notice in writing that the vendor’s condition has been satisfied; and\n\n(b) any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract may be applied in accordance with the law.\n\n(3) The notice required under subsection (2)(a) must be given within 10 working days after the date on which the vendor’s condition is satisfied.\n\n(4) If the vendor fails to give the notice required under subsection (2)(a) within the time specified in subsection (3), the vendor’s condition is taken not to have been satisfied.\n\n[Section 13H inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 13I. Consequences if vendor’s condition is not satisfied or is taken not to have been satisfied\n\n(1) If a vendor’s condition in a future lot contract is not satisfied —\n\n(a) the purchaser may terminate the contract by notice in writing to the vendor; or\n\n(b) the vendor may terminate the contract by notice in writing to the purchaser but only if the vendor has complied with section 13G.\n\n(2) If the vendor’s condition is taken not to have been satisfied under section 13H(4), the purchaser may terminate the contract by notice in writing to the vendor.\n\n(3) To avoid doubt, nothing in this section confers on the vendor the right to terminate a future lot contract if the vendor’s condition is taken not to have been satisfied under section 13H(4).\n\n(4) If the contract is terminated under subsection (1)(a) or (b) or subsection (2), the purchaser may recover from the deposit holder specified in the contract or from any other person to whom the deposit was paid —\n\n(a) any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser under the contract; and\n\n(b) if applicable, any interest accrued on the deposit or other amount.\n\n[Section 13I inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 8.]\n\n##### 14. Restriction on sale of mortgaged subdivisional land\n\n(1) A person who has the right to sell one or more lots in a subdivision or proposed subdivision shall not sell any of such lots that is subject to a mortgage unless the mortgage relates only to that lot and he sells the lot under a contract which provides that the consideration for the sale of the lot shall be satisfied, to the extent of any money owing under the mortgage at the date upon which the purchaser is entitled to possession or receipt of the rents and profits of the lot sold, by the purchaser assuming on and from that date the obligations of the mortgagor under the mortgage.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who sells the lot —\n\n[(a) deleted]\n\n(b) under a contract which provides that —\n\n(i) any mortgage affecting the lot sold is to be discharged as to that lot before the purchaser becomes, or upon the purchaser becoming, entitled to possession or to receipt of the rents and profits under the contract; and\n\n(ii) the deposit and all other moneys payable under the contract, other than any money payable in excess of the amount required to so discharge the mortgage, are to be paid to a legal practitioner or to a licensee, as defined in section 2 of the *Land Agents Act 1921* 1, to be applied by him in or towards so discharging the mortgage,\n\nbut where the mortgage is not discharged as to that lot before the purchaser becomes, or upon the purchaser becoming, entitled to possession or to receipt of the rents and profits under the contract and the purchaser of the lot under the contract is not in default under it, he may, by notice in writing served on the vendor of the lot under the contract at any time prior to the mortgage being discharged as to that lot, rescind the contract and thereupon may, in a court of competent jurisdiction, recover from that vendor all moneys paid by that purchaser under the contract.\n\n(3) In subsections (1) and (2) mortgage does not include any floating charge on the whole or any part of the undertaking or property of a corporation.\n\n[Section 14 amended: No. 40 of 1985 s. 6; No. 65 of 2003 s. 64(2); No. 21 of 2008 s. 702; No. 38 of 2016 s. 9; No. 32 of 2018 s. 246; No. 9 of 2022 s. 424.]\n\n##### 15. Exemptions\n\n(1) Where the Minister considers that a person had, immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Act, legal obligations or other commitments in respect of any land, by reason of which it would be unreasonable for the restrictions of sections 13 and 14, or any one of them, to apply to the sale of that land, or any part of it, by that person, the Minister may, by a notice published in the *Government Gazette* within 12 months after the coming into operation of this Act, exempt that person from those restrictions in respect of the sale of that land or any part of it, on such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit and are specified in the notice.\n\n(2) Where the Minister has granted an exemption under subsection (1), he may by a notice published in the *Government Gazette* at any time, revoke the exemption or vary it, as specified in the notice, as to the land or any part of it in respect of which, or the terms and conditions on which, it was granted.\n\n(3) Where the Minister considers that a person had, immediately prior to the coming into operation of the *Acts Amendment (Strata Titles) Act 1985*, legal obligations or other commitments in respect of any land, by reason of which it would be unreasonable for the restrictions of sections 13 and 14, or any one of them, to apply to the sale of that land, or any part of it, by that person, the Minister may, by a notice published in the *Government Gazette* within 12 months after the coming into operation of the *Acts Amendment (Strata Titles) Act 1985*, exempt that person from those restrictions in respect of the sale of that land or any part of it, on such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit and are specified in the notice.\n\n(4) Where the Minister has granted an exemption under subsection (1), he may by notice published in the *Government Gazette* at any time, revoke the exemption or vary it, as specified in the notice, as to the land or any part of it in respect of which, or the terms and conditions on which, it was granted.\n\n[Section 15 amended: No. 40 of 1985 s. 7.]\n\n## Part IV — Offences in relation to sale of land\n\n##### 16. Limitation on advertisement\n\nA person shall not, in relation to any land for sale, advertise that the land may be put to a specified use if that use of the land would be contrary to any planning scheme, or any local law relating to planning, in force under the *Planning and Development Act 2005* or contrary to any local law in force under the *Local Government Act 1995*.\n\nPenalty: a fine of $100 000.\n\n[Section 16 amended: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 38 of 2005 s. 15; No. 28 of 2010 s. 36; No. 38 of 2016 s. 10; No. 45 of 2020 s. 126.]\n\n##### 17. Misrepresentation concerning public amenity\n\n(1) A vendor of land or his agent shall not, on or in connection with the sale of land, make a statement as to the proposed or projected position of any public amenity unless, at the time he makes the statement, either —\n\n(a) all approvals required by law of the siting of the amenity in that position have been given; or\n\n(b) he indicates as part of that statement, if such is the case, that all or some of such approvals have not yet been given, or that he is not aware whether or not they have all been given.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(2) In subsection (1) —\n\n  position includes, in relation to railways and other means of transport, the route to be followed by that amenity;\n\n  public amenity includes roads, bridges, churches, shops, petrol stations, shopping centres, hotels, water supply, sewerage, light, power, gas, drainage, schools, hospitals, parks, reserves, swimming pools, railways, and other means of transport; and\n\n  statement includes a marking or indication in a brochure, pamphlet, or advertisement, issued, or in any sign publicly exhibited, before the sale.\n\n[Section 17 amended: No. 9 of 1973 s. 2; No. 38 of 2016 s. 11.]\n\n##### 18. House to house selling prohibited\n\nA person shall not go, or employ or procure another person to go, from house to house offering for sale or seeking offers for the purchase of vacant land, or for the purpose of persuading or inducing persons to go to inspect any vacant land with a view to purchase.\n\nPenalty: a fine of $100 000.\n\n[Section 18 amended: No. 38 of 2016 s. 12.]\n\n##### 19. Remedy of purchaser on contravention of s. 18\n\nWhere a contract for the sale of land is made as a result of a contravention of section 18, the purchaser of the land under the contract may, by notice in writing served on the vendor of the land under the contract within 14 days after the date of the making of the contract, rescind the contract and thereupon may, in a court of competent jurisdiction, recover from that vendor all moneys paid under the contract.\n\n## Part IVA — Dealings in undivided shares in land\n\n[Heading inserted: No. 70 of 1974 s. 4.]\n\n##### 19A. Interpretation, etc.\n\n(1) In this Part —\n\n  offeror, includes invitor;\n\n  option to purchase includes a gratuitous option to purchase; and\n\n  Registrar  means the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs appointed pursuant to section 4 of the *Companies (Administration) Act 1982*, and includes a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner for Corporate Affairs appointed pursuant to that Act, or a person acting in any such office.\n\n(2) For the purposes of this Part —\n\n  (a) an undivided share in land includes any interest or right, whether legal or equitable, in an undivided share in land and includes an option to purchase such an interest or right;\n\n(b) a reference to an interest in land is a reference to any interest in the land of whatever kind, legal or equitable, and whether represented by undivided shares or otherwise;\n\n  (c) offer to the public for purchase, or offer to the public options to purchase or invite the public to purchase includes —\n\n(i) offer to any section of the public for purchase, offer to any section of the public options to purchase, or invite any section of the public to purchase, whether the section of the public is selected as clients of the person making the offer or invitation, as the case requires, or in any other manner;\n\n(ii) going from place to place, whether by appointment or otherwise, offering for purchase to the public or any member of the public, offering options to purchase to the public or any member of the public, or inviting the public or any member of the public to purchase, as the case requires; and\n\n(iii) by telephone, offering to any member of the public for purchase, offering options to purchase to any member of the public, or inviting any member of the public to purchase, as the case requires;\n\nand\n\n(d) another person is an associate of an offeror where —\n\n(i) if the offeror and that other person are both corporations, the corporations are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the *Corporations Act 2001* of the Commonwealth;\n\n(ii) the offeror is a person in accordance with whose directions, instructions or wishes that other person is accustomed or is under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in relation to any interest in the land;\n\n(iii) the offeror is a person who is accustomed or is under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of that other person in relation to any interest in the land;\n\n(iv) the offeror is a body corporate in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of which, or of the directors of which, that other person is accustomed or is under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in relation to any interest in the land; or\n\n(v) the offeror is a body corporate that is, or the directors of which are, accustomed or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of that other person in relation to any interest in the land,\n\nbut a person shall not be regarded as a person in accordance with whose directions or by whose instructions another person is accustomed to act by reason only that that other person acts on advice given by the firstmentioned person in a professional capacity.\n\n(3) Without limiting the generality of section 19B(1)(c), a person shall, for the purposes of this Part, be regarded at any particular time as carrying on the business of selling undivided shares in land if within the immediately preceding period of 12 months, the total number of transactions entered into as vendor by that person and his associates or any one or more of them for the sale of undivided shares in land exceeded 3, except where the purchasers in each of those transactions are identical.\n\n[Section 19A inserted: No. 70 of 1974 s. 4; amended: No. 10 of 1982 s. 28; No. 20 of 2003 s. 43.]\n\n##### 19B. Certain offers to the public prohibited\n\n(1) A person shall not directly or indirectly offer to the public for purchase, offer to the public options to purchase, or invite the public to purchase any undivided share in land unless —\n\n(a) there is in force in relation to the undivided share a managed investment scheme that is registered under Part 5C.1 of the *Corporations Act 2001* of the Commonwealth;\n\n(b) the offer or invitation relates to a specified building (whether then in existence or proposed to be erected) and any purchaser of the undivided share will have the right to the exclusive occupation or use of that building or a specified part of that building;\n\n(c) neither the offeror nor any of his associates is carrying on the business of selling or dealing in undivided shares in land; or\n\n(d) the Minister has, pursuant to section 19C, exempted the offer or invitation from the provisions of this Part.\n\nPenalty for this subsection: a fine of $100 000.\n\n(2) Proceedings for any offence against this section may be taken by the Registrar or, with the written consent of the Minister, by any person.\n\n(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Act, proceedings for any offence against this section may be brought within the period of 3 years after the commission of the alleged offence or, with the consent of the Minister, at any later time.\n\n(4) A person shall not be relieved from any liability to a purchaser of, or the holder of an option to purchase, an undivided share in land by reason of any contravention of this section.\n\n(5) It is a defence to a charge of an offence against this section for the accused to show —\n\n(a) that at the time the offer or invitation was made it related to the total interest of the offeror and his associates, if any, in the land;\n\n(b) that the offeror and his associates, if any, proposed to sell that total interest in one transaction or grant an option to purchase that total interest in one transaction, as the case requires; and\n\n(c) that since the offer or invitation was first made after the coming into operation of the *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1974*, neither the offeror nor any of his associates has, in any one transaction or in any number of simultaneously executed transactions which can fairly be regarded as one transaction, sold or granted options to purchase anything less than that total interest.\n\n[Section 19B inserted: No. 70 of 1974 s. 5; amended: No. 10 of 1982 s. 28; No. 20 of 2003 s. 44; No. 84 of 2004 s. 80 and 82; No. 38 of 2016 s. 13.]\n\n##### 19C. Transitional provision\n\n(1) Where —\n\n(a) prior to the coming into operation of the *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1974* but not later than 10 September 1974, a person had offered to the public for purchase, offered to the public options to purchase, or invited the public to purchase any undivided share or shares in land; and\n\n(b) the Minister is satisfied that —\n\n(i) immediately prior to the coming into operation of the *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1974*, that person had legal obligations or other commitments in respect of the land the subject of the offer or invitation by reason of which it would be unreasonable for the restrictions of this Part to apply to the making of further offers or invitations in relation to the land; or\n\n(ii) it would be contrary to the interests of persons who entered into contracts for the purchase of, or obtained options to purchase, undivided shares in the land prior to the coming into operation of the *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1974* that the provisions of this Part should apply so as to restrict the making of further offers or invitations by the offeror in relation to the land,\n\nthe Minister may, by notice published in the *Government Gazette* within 12 months after the coming into operation of the *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1974*, exempt the offeror from the restrictions of this Part and in that event section 19D does not apply to any contract entered into, or any option granted, while that exemption remains in force.\n\n(2) Where a person who was the owner of an undivided share in land on 10 September 1974, satisfies the Minister that it would be unreasonable for the provisions of this Part to apply so as to restrict him from making offers or invitations relating to the whole or any part of that undivided share, the Minister may exempt that person from the restrictions of this Part in relation to the whole or any part of that undivided share, and in that event section 19D does not apply to any contract entered into or any option granted by that person in relation to that undivided share or any part thereof while that exemption remains in force.\n\n(3) Any exemption granted by the Minister pursuant to subsection (1) or subsection (2) —\n\n(a) shall be granted subject to such conditions, if any, as the Minister determines and specifies in the instrument of exemption; and\n\n(b) may be revoked by the Minister at any time and shall, in any event, determine forthwith upon any breach of those conditions.\n\n[Section 19C inserted: No. 70 of 1974 s. 6.]\n\n##### 19D. Rescission\n\nWhere a contract for the sale of an undivided share in land is made but prior to the making of the contract an offer or invitation relating to the land was made in contravention of section 19B the purchaser under the contract —\n\n(a) by notice in writing served on the vendor under the contract within 3 years after the making of the contract, may rescind the contract; and\n\n(b) thereupon, may recover in a court of competent jurisdiction all moneys paid under the contract,\n\nunless the vendor shows to the satisfaction of the court that —\n\n(c) the offer or invitation did not contribute to the making of the contract; or\n\n(d) the defence referred to in section 19B(5) would be available to him in any proceedings under that section concerning the offer or invitation.\n\n[Section 19D inserted: No. 70 of 1974 s. 7.]\n\n## Part V — Application to the Court by vendor or purchaser\n\n##### 20. Application to Court\n\nA vendor or purchaser of any interest in land or their personal representatives may make an application to the Court by summons at chambers in respect of any requisitions, or objections, or any claim for compensation, or any other question arising out of or connected with the contract (not being a question affecting the existence or validity of the contract) and the Court may make such order upon the application as to the Court may appear just, and may order how and by whom all or any of the costs of and incidental to the application are to be borne and paid.\n\n## Part VI — Rules relating to title of general law land\n\n##### 21. Application of this Part\n\nThis Part does not apply to land or any estate or interest in land which is registered under the *Transfer of Land Act 1893*.\n\n##### 22. Thirty years title substituted for 40 years\n\nIn the completion of a contract of sale of land made after the coming into operation of this Act 30 years is, subject to any stipulation to the contrary in the contract, substituted as the period of commencement of title which a purchaser may require in the place of 40 years, but earlier title than 30 years may be required in cases similar to those in which earlier title than 40 years might have been required immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Act.\n\n##### 23. Rights of vendor and purchaser as to title\n\nIn the completion of a contract made after the coming into operation of this Act the obligations and rights of vendor and purchaser are, subject to any stipulation to the contrary in the contract, to be regulated by the following rules —\n\n(a) under a contract to grant or assign a term of years, whether derived or to be derived out of a freehold or leasehold estate, the intended lessee or assignee is not entitled to call for the title to the freehold;\n\n(b) recitals, statements and descriptions of facts, matters, and parties contained in deeds, instruments, Acts of Parliament, or statutory declarations 20 years old at the date of the contract, unless and except so far as they are proved to be inaccurate, are to be taken to be sufficient evidence of the truth of such facts, matters and descriptions;\n\n(c) the inability of the vendor to furnish the purchaser with a legal covenant to produce and furnish copies of documents of title is not an objection to title where the purchaser will, on the completion of the contract, have an equitable right to the production of such documents;\n\n(d) such covenants for production as the purchaser can and does require are to be furnished at his expense, but the vendor is to bear the expense of perusal and execution on behalf of, or by himself, and on behalf of or by necessary parties other than the purchaser; and\n\n(e) where the vendor retains any part of an estate, to which any documents of title relate, he may retain such documents.\n\n## Part VII — Transitional provisions for *Sale of Land Amendment Act 2016*\n\n[Heading inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 14.]\n\n##### 24. Transitional provisions for *Sale of Land Amendment Act 2016*\n\n(1) In this section —\n\namendment Act means the *Sale of Land Amendment Act 2016*;\n\ncommencement day means the day on which sections 6 to 8 of the amendment Act come into operation;\n\nfuture lot contract has the meaning given in section 11 (as amended by the amendment Act);\n\npost‑commencement future lot contract means a future lot contract entered into on or after the commencement day;\n\npre‑commencement future lot contract means a future lot contract entered into before the commencement day.\n\n(2) Subject to section 13, a pre‑commencement future lot contract continues in effect as if the amendment Act had not been enacted.\n\n(3) Sections 13A to 13I (as inserted by the amendment Act) apply to every post‑commencement future lot contract.\n\n[Section 24 inserted: No. 38 of 2016 s. 14.]\n\n[Schedule omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(f).]\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Sale of Land Act 1970* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Sale of Land Act 1970* | 119 of 1970 | 10 Dec 1970 | 1 Feb 1971 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 22 Jan 1971 p. 149) |\n| *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1973* | 9 of 1973 | 25 May 1973 | 25 May 1973 |\n| *Sale of Land Act Amendment Act 1974* | 70 of 1974 | 9 Dec 1974 | 28 Feb 1975 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 28 Feb 1975 p. 719) |\n| **Reprint of the *Sale of Land Act 1970* approved 8 May 1978** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Companies (Consequential Amendments) Act 1982* s. 28 | 10 of 1982 | 14 May 1982 | 1 Jul 1982 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 25 Jun 1982 p. 2079) |\n| *Acts Amendment (Strata Titles) Act 1985* Pt. II | 40 of 1985 | 13 May 1985 | 30 Jun 1985 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 21 Jun 1985 p. 2188) |\n| *Local Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996* s. 4 | 14 of 1996 | 28 Jun 1996 | 1 Jul 1996 (see s. 2) |\n| *Transfer of Land Amendment Act 1996* s. 153(1) and (2) | 81 of 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 | 14 Nov 1996 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| *Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act (No. 2) 1998* s. 76 | 10 of 1998 | 30 Apr 1998 | 30 Apr 1998 (see s. 2(1)) |\n| **Reprint of the *Sale of Land Act 1970* as at 25 Jan 2002** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Corporations (Consequential Amendments) Act (No. 2) 2003* Pt. 22 | 20 of 2003 | 23 Apr 2003 | 15 Jul 2001 (see s. 2(1) and Cwlth *Gazette* 13 Jul 2001 No. S285) |\n| *Acts Amendment and Repeal (Courts and Legal Practice) Act 2003* s. 64 | 65 of 2003 | 4 Dec 2003 | 1 Jan 2004 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 30 Dec 2003 p. 5722) |\n| *Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004* s. 141 | 59 of 2004 | 23 Nov 2004 | 1 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7128) |\n| *Criminal Procedure and Appeals (Consequential and Other Provisions) Act 2004* s. 80 and 82 | 84 of 2004 | 16 Dec 2004 | 2 May 2005 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 31 Dec 2004 p. 7129 (correction in *Gazette* 7 Jan 2005 p. 53)) |\n| *Planning and Development (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 2005* s. 15 | 38 of 2005 | 12 Dec 2005 | 9 Apr 2006 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 21 Mar 2006 p. 1078) |\n| **Reprint 3: The *Sale of Land Act 1970* as at 19 May 2006** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Land Information Authority Act 2006* s. 157 | 60 of 2006 | 16 Nov 2006 | 1 Jan 2007 (see s. 2(1) and *Gazette* 8 Dec 2006 p. 5369) |\n| *Legal Profession Act 2008* s. 702 | 21 of 2008 | 27 May 2008 | 1 Mar 2009 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 27 Feb 2009 p. 511) |\n| *Approvals and Related Reforms (No. 4) (Planning) Act 2010* s. 36 | 28 of 2010 | 19 Aug 2010 | 22 Nov 2010 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 19 Nov 2010 p. 5709) |\n| *Sale of Land Amendment Act 2016* | 38 of 2016 | 22 Nov 2016 | s. 1 and 2: 22 Nov 2016 (see s. 2(a));   Act other than s. 1 and 2: 3 Apr 2017 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 3 Feb 2017 p. 1107-8) |\n| *Strata Titles Amendment Act 2018* Pt. 3 Div. 20 | 30 of 2018 | 19 Nov 2018 | 1 May 2020 (see s. 2(b) and SL 2020/39 cl. 2) |\n| *Community Titles Act 2018* Pt. 14 Div. 20 | 32 of 2018 | 19 Nov 2018 | 30 Jun 2021 (see s. 2(b) and SL 2021/69 cl. 2) |\n| *Swan Valley Planning Act 2020* Pt. 10 Div. 12 | 45 of 2020 | 9 Dec 2020 | 1 Aug 2021 (see s. 2(1)(e) and SL 2021/124 cl. 2) |\n| *Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2022* s. 424 | 9 of 2022 | 14 Apr 2022 | 1 Jul 2022 (see s. 2(c) and SL 2022/113 cl. 2) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 Repealed by the *Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978.*\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nADI 11\n\nadvertise 5\n\nadvertisement 5\n\namendment Act 24(1)\n\napproved form 11\n\ncharge 7(2)\n\ncommencement day 24(1)\n\nCourt 5\n\ndeposit 5\n\ndeposit holder 11\n\nfuture lot contract 11, 24(1)\n\ninvite the public to purchase 19A(2)\n\nland 5\n\nlot 11\n\nmortgage 14(3)\n\nnotice in writing 7(2)\n\nofferor 19A(1)\n\noffer to the public for purchase 19A(2)\n\noffer to the public options to purchase 19A(2)\n\noption to purchase 19A(1)\n\nposition 17(2)\n\npost-commencement future lot contract 24(1)\n\npre-commencement future lot contract 24(1)\n\nproprietor 11\n\npublic amenity 17(2)\n\nreal estate agent 11\n\nRegistrar 19A(1)\n\nRegistrar of Titles 11\n\nsection 5\n\nsell 11\n\nselling 11\n\nsettlement agent 11\n\nsold 11\n\nstatement 17(2)\n\nsubdivision 11\n\nterms contract 5\n\nvendor’s condition 11, 13B(1)\n\nworking day 11\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not available. The page returned only a system notice indicating the URL has changed due to website upgrades, with no substantive legal content present."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the URL returned a 'page not found' error rather than the text of the Act","Complexity cannot be assessed without access to the actual provisions of the legislation","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content could be retrieved.**\n\nThe page for the *Sale of Land Act 1970* (Western Australia) is no longer available at the provided URL. The Western Australian government's legislation website has undergone system upgrades that have changed some page links, meaning the actual text of this law could not be accessed or analysed.\n\n**What you should do:**\n- Visit the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) directly and search for the *Sale of Land Act 1970*\n- Contact the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk if you continue to have difficulties finding the Act\n\nWithout access to the actual legislative text, no meaningful legal analysis can be provided."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's scope has expanded since the 1970 original consolidation to add a specific regulatory regime for \"future lot contracts\" and stronger protections for purchaser deposits and for offers of undivided shares. The 2016 amendments introduced sections 13A–13I (future lot contract requirements: vendor’s condition, prescribed warning, deposit‑holder rules, trust‑account and audit obligations) and related enforcement and remedy mechanisms (s.13B–13I, s.13E–13F). Part IVA (s.19A–19D) regulates public offers of undivided shares and provides rescission remedies for purchasers. The Act now also contains more prescriptive trust accounting, audit powers for the Registrar of Titles, and repeated high‑value penalties (see s.13D–13F, s.19B). These additions broaden the Act from general sale‑of‑land rules to detailed process, custody and market‑conduct requirements for subdivisional and unregistered‑lot sales."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple interacting regimes: terms contracts, future lot contracts, subdivisional sales, mortgaged lots, undivided share offers (Parts II, III, IVA)","Detailed procedural requirements with short statutory timelines (eg. 2 working days for deposit transfers s.13D–13E; 10 working days notice s.13H(3); 6‑month default vendor’s condition s.13B(2))","Heavy use of cross-references to other Acts (Transfer of Land Act 1893, Planning and Development Act 2005, Corporations Act 2001, Banking Act 1959) requiring multi‑statute compliance","Significant statutory discretions vested in the Court, the Registrar of Titles and the Minister (s.9, s.13F, s.15)","Wide range of civil remedies and criminal penalties (commonly $100,000), and multiple avenues for purchaser rescission and recovery (eg. s.10, s.13B(3), s.13C(3), s.13D(2), s.13I(4), s.19D)","Detailed obligations for deposit holders including trust accounting and audit obligations (s.13E–13F) which require operational systems and oversight","Transitional and historical amendments over decades (s.24 and compilation table) adding layered provisions and exception history"],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does (mechanical summary)\n\n- It sets rules for the sale of land in Western Australia. It defines key terms (for example, what counts as a \"terms contract\", a \"future lot contract\", \"deposit holder\", and who the \"Registrar of Titles\" is) (see s.5, s.11). \n\n- It restricts how and when vendors can rescind or encumber land sold under a terms contract and imposes notice and consent procedures: a vendor may not determine a terms contract for a purchaser breach without first giving a written notice and a specified remedy period (s.6). Vendors must tell prospective purchasers in writing about mortgages, encumbrances, registered judgments/orders against the land before the purchaser signs a terms contract (s.7). A vendor under a terms contract may not create new encumbrances (eg. mortgages) without the purchaser’s written consent given within 28 days beforehand or leave of the Court (s.8–9). If those duties are breached, the purchaser may seek rescission within set timeframes (s.10).\n\n- It prevents most people from selling lots in a subdivision unless they are the registered proprietor, an agent of the proprietor, empowered by law to transfer the lot, or presently entitled to become proprietor (s.13). That general rule is modified to allow \"future lot contracts\" (contracts for lots to be created by subdivision) only if a set of more detailed rules are followed (s.13A–13I).\n\n- For future lot contracts the Act requires: a vendor’s condition that the vendor will become (or be entitled to become) proprietor within a specified period (default 6 months) (s.13B); a prescribed warning in the approved form that the vendor is not the proprietor (s.13C); and a requirement that any deposit or other amount paid by the purchaser must be paid to a named deposit holder who must hold it on trust in an ADI trust account and follow audit and repayment rules (s.13D–13E). Failure to include the vendor’s condition, the warning, or the deposit-holder provision makes the contract illegal and void and allows the purchaser to recover deposits (s.13B(3), 13C(3), 13D(2)).\n\n- Deposit-holders (legal practitioners, licensed real estate agents or settlement agents) must operate a trust account in an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI), arrange audits when required, hold the money on trust until settlement or a statutory right to recover arises, and repay deposits when recovery rights arise (s.11, s.13E, s.13F). The Registrar of Titles may require audits and can engage auditors and recover audit costs if the deposit holder fails to arrange them (s.13F).\n\n- Vendors and purchasers must use all reasonable endeavours to satisfy the vendor’s condition (for example to obtain approvals and lodge subdivision plans) and vendors must provide information on steps taken if requested (s.13G). If the vendor’s condition is satisfied, the vendor must notify the purchaser within 10 working days; failure to notify in time means the condition is treated as not satisfied (s.13H). If the condition is not satisfied (or treated not satisfied), there are termination and deposit-recovery routes (s.13I).\n\n- Special rules apply where a lot is subject to a mortgage: generally a mortgaged lot may only be sold if the mortgage relates only to that lot and the purchaser assumes the mortgage obligations at possession, or if the mortgage is to be discharged before possession under contract terms (s.14).\n\n- The Act creates civil remedies and criminal penalties ($100,000 fines for many offences) for failures to comply with notification, encumbrance, deposit-handling and advertising rules (s.7, s.8, s.13B(6), s.13C(4), s.13E(1,3,4) and others). The purchaser commonly has rights to rescind and recover deposits where statutory requirements are not met (for example s.13B(3), s.13C(3), s.13D(2), s.13I(4)).\n\n- It also restrains misrepresentations about planning/amenity and limits advertising claims that conflict with planning schemes or local laws (s.16–17), prohibits house-to-house selling of vacant land (s.18) and gives purchasers short rescission windows in those circumstances (s.19). \n\n- The Act restricts public offers of undivided shares in land unless certain conditions are met (for example, the interest is in a registered managed investment scheme, or the purchaser gets exclusive occupation rights) and authorises rescission remedies where unlawful public offers led to contracts (Part IVA: s.19A–19D, especially s.19B and s.19D).\n\n- The Supreme Court (the Court) and the Registrar of Titles have specified powers under the Act: the Court can give leave to encumber land under a terms contract and decide equitable remedies and disputes (s.9, s.10, s.20); the Registrar can approve forms, order audits of trust accounts and recover audit costs (s.11, s.13F). The Minister may grant limited exemptions from some subdivision-sale restrictions in narrowly defined transitional circumstances (s.15).\n\nOfficial purposes stated and an analytical check against costs, incentives and implementation risks\n\n- Official purpose-claims (as expressed in the Act’s structure and provisions): to protect purchasers by ensuring transparency about title and encumbrances (s.7), by restricting the sale of lots that are not yet owned or properly registered (s.13), by protecting purchaser deposits via trust-account and audit rules (s.13D–13F), and by preventing misleading advertising about planning and amenities (s.16–17). The Act also aims to limit risky public offerings of undivided shares (Part IVA, s.19B).\n\n- How those objectives are achieved mechanically and what that implies about costs and incentives:\n  - Information and notice duties (s.7, s.13B(1), s.13C(1)) shift the burden onto vendors to disclose encumbrances and status of title before contract execution. That increases vendor compliance costs (time, legal steps) and creates a clear statutory basis for purchaser rescission if the information is missing (s.10, s.13B(3)).\n  - Deposit-holder and trust-account requirements (s.13D–13E) remove immediate vendor access to purchaser funds for some time. This reduces vendor liquidity and financing options because deposits must be lodged in designated trust accounts in an ADI and are held on trust until settlement or statutory recovery rights arise. It transfers custody risk from vendors to regulated deposit holders, but imposes administrative and audit costs on deposit holders.\n  - The prohibition on creating encumbrances without consent or court leave (s.8–9) constrains vendors’ ability to incur secured debt over land subject to a terms contract. That provides purchaser protection but may make vendor financing more difficult or costly (higher borrowing costs or need for court applications), and creates potential court workload (s.9).\n  - Registrar audit powers and cost recovery (s.13F) create administrative compliance and potential enforcement costs for deposit holders; the Registrar’s discretion to require audits and to appoint auditors centralises oversight and creates implementation risk depending on how actively the Registrar exercises those powers.\n  - Strong monetary penalties (commonly stated as $100,000) for many breaches (for example s.7, s.8, s.13B(6), s.13C(4), s.13E(1), s.16, s.17(1)) raise the regulatory stakes and create legal and financial risk for vendors, deposit holders, agents and advertisers. That tends to push market participants toward conservative behaviour (eg. increased use of lawyers, stricter internal controls, or less willingness to sell by future lot contracts).\n  - Remedies that render non‑complying future lot contracts illegal and void (s.13B(3), s.13C(3), s.13D(2)) create strong buyer protections: purchasers can recover deposits and interest from the deposit holder or the person who received payment. That creates a direct fiscal cost for deposit holders and vendors if form or procedure errors occur.\n  - Restrictions on public offers of undivided shares (s.19B) limit some marketing and product structures unless the offer fits specific safe harbours (registered managed investment scheme, exclusive occupation right, or non-commercial seller). That narrows some ways to raise capital or package land interests, requiring parties who wish to offer broadly to structure deals within those exceptions or seek Ministerial exemption.\n\nWho pays, who decides, and what behaviour changes\n\n- Who pays: vendors bear many compliance duties (title disclosures, waiting periods, reasonable endeavours to satisfy vendor’s condition) and face fines for breaches (s.7, s.8, s.13B(6), s.13C(4), s.13E(1)). Deposit holders must operate ADI trust accounts, arrange audits and may be required to repay deposits; they also face fines for non-compliance and may bear audit costs if they fail to arrange audits (s.13E, s.13F(4)(c)). Purchasers can recover deposits and interest where statutory protections are not observed (s.13B(3), s.13C(3), s.13D(2), s.13I(4)). The Registrar can recover audit costs (s.13F(4)(c)). Courts may order equitable remedies and conditions to protect purchasers (s.9, s.10, s.20).\n\n- Who decides: vendors and purchasers decide contract terms (subject to statutory minimums such as the vendor’s condition and warning requirements, s.13B–13D). The Court decides on leave to encumber and on equitable remedies (s.9–10). The Registrar approves forms and may require audits and appoint auditors (s.11, s.13F). The Minister may grant limited exemptions (s.15) and can permit prosecutions to be brought by others with consent in some contexts (s.19B(2)).\n\n- Behaviour changes likely induced: fewer direct public offerings of undivided shares without compliance; vendors will either ensure they are proprietor or comply with future lot contract rules (including lodging deposits with deposit holders) or avoid selling by future lot contracts; deposit holders will adopt ADI trust accounts and be prepared for audits; vendors will be less likely to encumber subject-to-contract land without purchaser consent or Court leave; advertisers and vendors will avoid definitive claims about uses or amenities unless approvals exist (s.16–17).\n\nKey implementation and risk points to watch (source sections)\n\n- High fixed penalties ($100,000) in multiple provisions (for example s.7, s.8, s.13B(6), s.13C(4), s.13E(1), s.16, s.17(1)) increase legal and financial consequences for form or process errors.\n- Registrar discretion in audits and approving forms (s.11, s.13F) concentrates administrative control in an official; how that discretion is exercised will affect compliance costs.\n- The deeming and timing rules (eg. default 6-month vendor’s condition in s.13B(2); the 2 working‑day deposit forwarding requirement in s.13D(1) and s.13E(1); the 10 working‑day notice requirement in s.13H(3)) create short statutory timelines which vendors, purchasers and deposit holders must manage.\n- Interaction with other legislation (Transfer of Land Act 1893, Planning and Development Act 2005, Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, Corporations Act 2001) is recurrent (see definitions and cross‑references in s.11 and elsewhere), so compliance requires checking those regimes as well.\n\nBottom line (mechanical effect in plain terms)\n\nThe Act creates a detailed statutory regime that shifts several risks away from purchasers of subdivisional or unregistered lots and toward vendors and deposit holders by imposing pre‑contract disclosure duties, formal contract content requirements for future lot sales, strict rules for handling deposits (trust accounts, ADI placement, audits), limitations on vendor encumbrances during terms contracts, and penalties and rescission remedies if the statutory rules are not followed (see s.6–13, s.13D–13F, s.14, s.16–19, Part IVA)."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 1970 Act was a consolidation of general land sale laws with a focus on terms contracts and title rules. The 2016 amendments (sections 13A-13I) significantly expanded the scope to regulate 'future lot contracts'—sales of land not yet created by subdivision. This transformed the Act from a general consumer protection and conveyancing law into a specific regulator of off-the-plan and pre-subdivision sales, adding extensive trust account obligations, audit powers for the Registrar of Titles, and mandatory contract terms that didn't exist in the original legislation."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple distinct regulatory schemes in one Act: terms contracts (Part II), subdivisional land sales (Part III), undivided shares (Part IVA), and general sale offences (Part IV)","Dense cross-referencing to other WA legislation including Transfer of Land Act 1893, Planning and Development Act 2005, Community Titles Act 2018, Strata Titles Act 1985, and Commonwealth Banking Act 1959 and Corporations Act 2001","Nested conditional logic in sections 13B-13I regarding future lot contracts with multiple triggers for termination and recovery of deposits","14 defined terms in section 11 alone, plus additional definitions in sections 5, 7(2), 17(2), 19A, and 24(1)","Multiple penalty provisions with identical fines ($100,000) scattered throughout, requiring careful tracking of which section applies to which conduct","Transitional provisions in Part VII creating parallel regimes for pre- and post-2016 future lot contracts","Exception-heavy structure in Part IVA (section 19B) with four distinct exemptions to the prohibition on offering undivided shares","Interaction between general law land rules (Part VI) and Torrens system land (registered under Transfer of Land Act)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is Western Australia's main law governing how land is bought and sold. It protects people buying property—especially when they're paying in instalments or buying land that hasn't been subdivided yet.\n\n**Key protections for buyers:**\n\n*   **Terms contracts** (where you pay the price in instalments before getting the title): Vendors can't cancel your contract immediately if you miss a payment. They must give you at least 28 days' written notice to fix the breach. They also can't secretly mortgage the land after you've signed without your written consent or court permission.\n*   **Future lot contracts** (buying land that doesn't exist yet because the subdivision hasn't been approved): The vendor must include a warning that they don't own the land yet, must promise to become the owner within 6 months (or an agreed period), and must put your deposit in a trust account held by a lawyer, real estate agent, or settlement agent. If they fail, you can get your money back.\n*   **Truth in advertising:** Sellers can't falsely claim land can be used for something that zoning laws don't allow, and they can't make up locations for promised public amenities (schools, shops, trains) unless the plans are actually approved.\n*   **Door-to-door sales:** It's illegal to go house-to-house selling vacant land.\n*   **Undivided shares:** You generally can't sell bits of property to the public unless it's part of a registered managed investment scheme or meets specific exemptions.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nAnyone buying or selling land in Western Australia, real estate agents, property developers, settlement agents, and lawyers handling property transactions.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law stops developers from taking deposits for land they don't own, prevents sellers from misleading buyers about what they're purchasing, and gives buyers breathing room if they fall behind on payments. It's designed to stop dodgy property deals and protect consumers from losing money on land that might never materialise."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/sale-of-land-act-1970","history":"/api/acts/sale-of-land-act-1970/history","analysis":"/api/acts/sale-of-land-act-1970/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/sale-of-land-act-1970/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/sale-of-land-act-1970/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/sale-of-land-act-1970/documents"}}