The Duty of Care of Conveyancers
Patterson & Anor v Mamou (t/as De Novo Conveyancing) (2024) NSWDC 47
A recent case in the District Court of NSW Patterson & Anor v Mamou (t/as De Novo Conveyancing) explored the duty of care obligations owed by a conveyancer to a purchaser of property. In addition the case emphasised the importance for building inspectors to carry out a thorough and complete inspection of the entire property.
The Case
The plaintiffs purchased a property that contained works which had taken place without council approval. Prior to the expiry of the cooling off period under the contract for sale of the property (Contract), the conveyancer’s attention was drawn to Special Condition 14 of the Contract. Special Condition 14 disclosed the conversion of a garage to living area, a conversion of a rear awning and the construction of a sunroom that had been carried out without council approval, and that the purchaser accepted the Property including these works and “shall not make any objection, requisition claim for compensation or purport to rescind this Contract due to this disclosure.”
The main issues before the court were:
1. whether the conveyancer disclosed to the purchaser the details of Special Condition 14 of the Contract:- the vendor had carried out building works to the property without council approval ('Special Condition 14');
2. if not, whether the conveyancer had advised the plaintiff to obtain a building inspection report; and
3. if so, whether there was any proportionate liability attributed to the building inspector.
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