Conveyancers urged to share views on off-the-plan reforms
A major shake-up of off-the-plan contracts will give conveyancers a chance to have their say on the reforms and the way covenants like sunset clauses impact their clients.

CONVEYANCERS are being urged to share their views on off-the-plan contracts ahead of a major shake-up.
Reforms under consideration would leave developers facing fines for failing to deliver homes and unfairly profiting off buyers.
The NSW Government wants feedback on ways to protect consumers in off-the-plan contracts for homes and land across the state.
The reforms will give clearer deadlines for home buyers and free up land for development faster by removing outdated restrictions on development sites.
Almost 10,000 residential purchases in NSW last financial year were under off-the-plan contracts.
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib said: “This is about making sure home buyers have the right protections and information they need to make informed decisions.
“Off-the-plan contracts play a crucial role in supporting essential housing supply initiatives in NSW.
“They allow buyers to purchase property early in the development process, while giving developers the confidence and financial security to build.
“We know that most developers do the right thing, but we don’t want situations where businesses try to run down the clock on a contract to sell to a higher bidder or mislead consumers by unfairly changing the goalposts for when they can move into their dream home.
“These reforms are designed to provide greater transparency as well as encourage the delivery of new homes.
“These proposals are about encouraging developers to be upfront about timelines and challenges to assist homeowners.
“We encourage people to have their say on these proposals which aim to boost consumer confidence in the off-the-plan contract process.
Potential reforms being released for comment aim to tighten contract rules to give buyers a clearer understanding of when they can expect to move into their new home, reducing uncertainty and the risk of being left behind in the market when a contract is cancelled.
This could include scrapping the ability for developers to draw the contract out with indefinite sunset clauses which give buyers no clear path forward, or ability to exit the arrangement.
Other proposed changes the NSW Government is considering include:
- Making sunset clauses mandatory in contracts so that buyers can withdraw if sunset events do not occur by a set time
- Requiring developers to disclose the status of the development against construction milestones so buyers have a better understanding of timeframes and potential risks
- Limiting a developer’s ability to extend sunset dates only for certain reasons beyond the developer’s control such as weather or supply issues, and imposing time limits on extensions
- Requiring developers to take reasonable steps to meet dates by potentially introducing penalties for inaction.
The Government is also looking at unlocking potential development sites by making it easier to remove private, outdated agreements from land titles (known as obsolete restrictive covenants) which can limit how land is used or developed.
Covenants can continue to bind future landowners indefinitely, even if they become outdated. For example, an obsolete covenant may prevent more than one property from being built on the land or ban the use of certain building materials.
To support the reforms, the Office of the Registrar General has released a discussion paper called ‘Contracts and Covenants: Reforms to support development of land’ outlining the options.
It is open until 7 March 2025.
To have your say, visit: https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/offtheplan-contracts-covenants