The New REIV Contract

The New REIV Contract

Is This Really What Vendors Signed Up For

Once upon a time selling a house in Victoria involved three things.

A contract, a Section 32, and a vague understanding that common sense would prevail.

Fast forward to today and the latest Real Estate Institute of Victoria and Law Institute of Victoria Contract of Sale now reads less like a sale document and more like a polite threat wrapped in legal formatting.

The question vendors should be asking is simple.

Is this contract working for me, or am I unknowingly volunteering for a risk management experiment.

The Contract That Grew Arms and Legs

The modern REIV contract has not changed overnight.

It has evolved slowly, like a creature that keeps growing extra clauses every time an insurer sneezes.

Each update promises clarity.

Each update delivers another page.

And somewhere along the way, the idea that this was a balanced document quietly left the room without saying goodbye.

Disclosure Now Means Everything and Then Some

Disclosure used to mean tell the truth and don’t hide anything obvious.

Now it means be correct, current, precise, updated, cross checked, and preferably clairvoyant.

Council records wrong.

Owners corporation slow to respond.

A service disconnected after signing.

Congratulations, the risk is probably yours.

The contract now assumes vendors have a direct hotline to every authority in Victoria and that all information remains frozen in time until settlement.

Timeframes Are No Longer Friendly Suggestions

Once upon a time a notice period was a conversation starter.

Now it is a stopwatch.

Miss a response window by a day and suddenly everyone is very serious and nobody remembers being flexible last week.

The contract is not angry.

It is just disappointed.

And also enforceable.

Special Conditions Are No Longer Special

Special conditions used to be where practical issues were managed.

Now they are treated like surgical instruments.

If drafted badly, they cut the vendor.

If ignored, they cut deeper.

Boilerplate conditions that used to sit quietly at the back of the contract are now front row participants in disputes that nobody budgeted for.

Why All This Is Happening

This is not because vendors suddenly became unreliable.

It is because professional risk has become allergic to uncertainty.

The contract is being shaped by insurance concerns, complaint histories, and worst case scenarios.

From that perspective, it is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

From a vendor’s perspective, it now assumes you are one typo away from trouble.

Is This Still a Vendor Friendly Contract

Short answer.

Only if it is prepared properly.

Long answer.

Not if you assume the standard form automatically protects you.

For simple, modern properties with clean records and no moving parts, it may still work fine.

For older homes, renovated properties, owners corporation lots, or anything with a history, it can be unforgiving.

What Vendors Should Actually Be Looking For

Vendors should not be asking whether the REIV contract is good or bad.

They should be asking whether it has been set up to suit their property.

That means a Section 32 that is complete, current, and realistic.

That means conditions that explain risk rather than pretend it does not exist.

That means understanding where responsibility now sits instead of finding out later in writing.

The Real Joke

The real joke is not the contract.

It is vendors being told it is standard and therefore safe.

Standard does not mean balanced.

Standard does not mean forgiving.

Standard now means very precise about who wears the problem.

Final Thought for Vendors

The latest REIV contract is not broken.

It is just very serious about consequences.

If you are selling and relying on the idea that things will work themselves out later, this contract will prove you wrong politely and in writing.

Getting it right at the start is still the cheapest part of the transaction.

Getting it wrong is where the fun really begins.

Victorian Property Settlements – Trusted for over 25 years by Victorian buyers and sellers.

Visit www.victorianpropertysettlements.com.au