Disclosure of material facts in residential tenancy agreements
Under the updated Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022, agents are now exempt from having to disclose material facts listed in the PSA Regulation 2022 in relation to residential tenancy agreements (section 47).
So, what exactly does that mean?
This means agents completing residential tenancy agreements must disclose material facts set out in the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 and not use the material fact disclosures listed in the Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022.
This is because the disclosures listed in the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 are more comprehensive and relate to matters that would affect a residential tenancy.
The full list of disclosures can be found in Part 3 Section 8 of Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019
Disclosure of material facts in selling agency agreements
Agents should still be disclosing the material facts listed in the Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022 when selling a property. The list of these disclosures can be found in Part 7 Section 60 of Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022
Do you keep a record of material fact discussions with owners?
Best practice would be to have a checklist that the owner signs or have the owner initial beside the area in the agreement to confirm that you have discussed this with them and not just filled it out yourself.
You could develop you own form/checklist to use which could be similar to the Loose-fill asbestos insulation questionnaire.