Free Buyer's Resource

Section 32 Buyer's Checklist (Victoria)

32 points to check on every Section 32 Vendor's Statement before you sign a Contract of Sale. Print this, take it to the property, and tick off each item with your conveyancer or solicitor.

1. Title and ownership

☐Vendor on title matches the seller. Section 32(2)(a). Common issue: deceased estates, family trusts, mid-divorce sales.
☐Title is unencumbered or all mortgages/charges to be discharged at settlement are listed.
☐Caveats checked. Any caveat lodged against the title? Section 32(2)(c).
☐Folio/title plan included. Confirms boundaries match what you walked.

2. Easements, restrictions and covenants

☐All easements disclosed. Drainage, sewer, telecommunications, council access. Section 32(2)(d).
☐Easement plans match the title plan. Cross-check geographically — easements through your future garage are common.
☐Restrictive covenants read in full. Any "single dwelling only", height caps, materials restrictions, no-fence obligations?
☐Section 173 Agreements. These bind future owners. Common: short-stay restrictions, build-by deadlines, fencing, vegetation retention.

3. Planning controls and overlays

☐Planning property report from council included or available.
☐All overlays identified — HO (Heritage), BMO (Bushfire), DDO (Design and Development), SLO (Significant Landscape), VPO (Vegetation Protection), ESO (Environmental Significance), LSIO (Land Subject to Inundation), FO (Floodway), EAO (Environmental Audit), EMO (Erosion Management).
☐BAL rating disclosed if BMO applies. BAL-12.5/19/29/40/FZ — affects construction cost and insurance.
☐Heritage citation read if HO applies. What's protected? What can/can't you change?
☐EAO requires Statement of Environmental Audit (s53Y) before residential use. Critical for former-industrial / mining / petrol-station sites.

4. Building permits and works

☐Building permits last 7 years disclosed. Section 32(2)(b).
☐Owner-builder warranty if any work was done as owner-builder in last 7 years.
☐Final occupancy permit issued for any major work? If not, council may not have signed off.
☐No illegal works. Compare what you see (deck, garage, granny flat) to what's on the permit history.

5. Owners Corporation (if applicable)

☐Owners Corporation Certificate (s151) included.
☐Quarterly fees disclosed and you can afford them long-term.
☐Sinking fund balance not zero or negative. Low sinking fund = special-levy risk.
☐Recent or upcoming special levies. Often tens of thousands per lot.
☐OC rules read — short-stay, pets, parking, balcony alterations. Some OCs ban Airbnb entirely.

6. Outgoings and rates

☐Council rates current and projected.
☐Water rates (incl. trade waste / storm-water charges).
☐State Land Tax if investment / second home (post Vacant Residential Land Tax expansion).
☐Windfall Gains Tax (WGT) — applies to land that has been rezoned. Look for any WGT notice on title.
☐GAIC (Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution) if in UGZ greenfield. Typically $13k–$15k per dwelling lot. Verify with State Revenue Office.

7. Notices and orders

☐No outstanding notices — building, planning, environmental, fire-safety. Section 32(2)(b)(i).
☐No road-widening notice.
☐No council compliance order requiring works.

8. Independent checks before signing

☐Building inspection by an independent builder/inspector.
☐Pest inspection (often combined with building).
☐Council planning property report.
☐Insurance quote — particularly for BMO, LSIO, FO, EMO properties.
☐Solicitor or conveyancer review — non-negotiable. This checklist supports your conveyancer; it does not replace them.

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