38Dummy bidding prohibited

38 Dummy bidding prohibited

(1) A vendor of land must not make a bid at a public auction of the land.

(2) A person must not make a bid at a public auction of land knowing that the bid is being made on behalf of a vendor of the land.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a bid may be found to have been made on behalf of a vendor even though it is not made at the request of, or with the knowledge of, the vendor.

(4) Evidence that a person who made a bid at a public auction had the intention of benefiting the vendor in making the bid is evidence that the person made the bid on behalf of the vendor.

(5) It is immaterial that a person making a bid in contravention of this section is not in Victoria at the time the bid is made.

S. 38(6) inserted by No. 103/2004 s. 70(1).

(6) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a bid made by a vendor who is a co-owner of the land or by a person (other than the auctioneer of the land) on behalf of a vendor who is a co-owner of the land if—

(a) the bid was made to enable the vendor to purchase the interest of another co-owner in the land; and

(b) the conditions under which the auction is conducted permit the making of bids by a vendor to purchase the interest of another co‑owner in the land; and

(c) before any bidding started, the auctioneer orally declared at the auction that a vendor may make bids to purchase the interest of a co-owner in the land.

S. 38(7) inserted by No. 103/2004 s. 70(1).

(7) In subsection (6), co-owner means a joint tenant, whether at law or in equity or a tenant in common, whether at law or in equity, of the land.

S. 39 inserted by No. 41/2003 s. 3.