What happens to my property contract over Christmas?
November 9, 2022
Many banks, solicitors and Government Departments, including the land titles registry, close over the Christmas period.
Fox and Thomas will be closed from 3:30 pm Friday 23 December 2022 until 8:30am Monday 9 January 2023.
In Queensland, the period from 27th December to 31st December (inclusive) are defined as non-business days in standard residential property contracts.
If any critical date under a Contract such as Finance Date, Building and Pest or Settlement Date falls on a non-business day then that date moves to the next business day after that period.
This means that any due date under a Contract that falls between 25th December 2022 to 2 January 2023 (inclusive) will move to the first business day after that period, which is Tuesday 3 January 2023.
Nonstandard contracts may not have this clause and so your conditions may fall due in Christmas limbo.
It is therefore important to keep this in mind when you are determining how much time you require to meet your contract obligations. You need to make sure your finance and settlement dates allow your bank enough time to process your finance application or prepare your release of mortgage, allowing for holiday period impacts.
If your bank is not ready, you may be in breach of your contract.
Cooling off
Contracts for residential property have a statutory Cooling Off Period (except where you buy at Auction or waive the Cooling Off Period). The Cooling Off Period starts the day the Buyer or its lawyer (whichever comes first) receives a copy of the Contract (signed by both parties) and ends at 5pm on the 5th business day after receipt.
The Christmas break non-business days definition does not apply to the Cooling Off Period. This means while your Contract critical dates are paused during the 27th December to 31st December period, the Cooling Off Period will continue to run; so your cooling off rights may be slipping away while you are unwrapping presents.
This makes it even more important leading up to the Christmas break that you discuss your contract with your conveyancer before signing, to make sure you don’t get caught by the conveyancing grinch this festive season.
For more information please contact a member of our residential, commercial or rural property team at Fox and Thomas.
You might also like:
Farming businesses and structuring options
Whether you are purchasing an existing business or starting a new one, it is important to determine the most appropriate structure for doing so before […]
November 2, 2023
Family law and the family farm
When it comes to a family law property settlement the family farm is not “…just another asset” to the people involved. The first step in […]
October 1, 2020
Beginners guide to aged care – Part 4: Funding and estate planning issues
In the fourth and final instalment of our aged care series, we discuss the potential issues involved in funding your move into an aged care […]
November 25, 2021
Subscribe to news
Stay up to date with the latest news from the Fox and Thomas team by subscribing to our newsletter by clicking the button below.
Subscribe NowTeam Specialists
The team at Fox and Thomas are trusted legal experts with many years of combined experience acting on a wide range of matters for clients including individuals, small business, family owned enterprises and national and international companies.
Learn more