Property Due Diligence Before You Buy in Victoria

In Victoria, important purchase risks can arise once you sign a contract. Auction and cooling-off rules depend on the circumstances, so complete relevant checks beforehand and ask your conveyancer or solicitor what applies to your contract.

The two documents every Victorian buyer should read

The Section 32 vendor statement

Before you sign a contract of sale, the vendor must give you a vendor statement, commonly called a Section 32 after the relevant section of the Sale of Land Act 1962. It discloses matters including title particulars and any restrictions such as easements or covenants, outgoings, planning information, notices and orders, building permits issued in recent years, services connected, and owners corporation details where applicable.

Have your conveyancer or solicitor review it. Reading it yourself is worthwhile, but the value is in knowing which omissions and which entries matter.

The Due Diligence Checklist

For residential land, the vendor or their agent must make Consumer Affairs Victoria's Due Diligence Checklist available to prospective buyers from the time the property is offered for sale. It is a prompt list rather than a disclosure document — it tells you what to investigate, not what is true about this property. Check the current version on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website, as content is updated from time to time.

Cooling off: know whether you have it

For a private sale of residential property in Victoria, a buyer generally has a cooling-off period of three clear business days from signing, with a penalty for withdrawing. Important exceptions apply — notably, cooling off is not available when you buy at a publicly advertised auction, or within three clear business days before or after such an auction, and certain other exclusions exist.

Assume you have no safety net until your conveyancer confirms otherwise for your specific contract. This is precisely why inspections and contract review come first.

Physical due diligence

• Pre-purchase building inspection by a suitably qualified inspector, ideally attended by you.
• Timber pest inspection — separate from the building inspection.
• Where relevant: electrical and plumbing assessment, roof and subfloor access, and asbestos advice on pre-1990 construction.
• Quotes for any work you intend to complete, obtained before you offer, not after.
• Confirmation of building permits and occupancy certificates for extensions and decks.

Illegal or unpermitted works are a recurring problem in older stock. Renovations completed without permits can become your responsibility once you own the property.

Planning, land and environmental checks

The planning scheme governs what can and cannot be done with the land, and it also flags risk. Check the planning property report for the address and look for zoning and any overlays that apply.

• Zoning — residential, mixed use, rural or otherwise, and what it permits.
• Heritage overlay — can restrict external changes and demolition.
• Bushfire Management Overlay and any Bushfire Prone Area designation, which affect construction requirements and insurance.
• Flood-related overlays such as Land Subject to Inundation, Floodway or Special Building Overlay.
• Easements and covenants on title, which can restrict where and what you build.
• Proposed works nearby: rezoning, large developments, road or rail projects.

Free planning and property reports are available through the Victorian Government's planning website, and the relevant council and water authority can confirm flood information. Verify current details directly with those bodies rather than relying on a listing.

Apartments, units and townhouses

If an owners corporation applies, request and read:

• The owners corporation certificate, showing fees, funds and any current or pending legal action.
• Recent meeting minutes — the fastest way to find building defects, disputes and looming special levies.
• The maintenance plan and fund balance, if one exists.
• Insurance details for the building.
• Any building defect reports, particularly for newer high-density stock.

Value and financial due diligence

The statement of information provided on residential sales includes an indicative selling price and comparable sales, but it is a disclosure requirement, not a valuation. Do your own comparison: similar land size, condition, position and property type, sold recently.

• Council rates, water rates and, if applicable, owners corporation fees.
• Land tax, based on site value if the property is not your principal place of residence, and any applicable surcharges — confirm current thresholds with the State Revenue Office.
• Stamp duty and any concession you may qualify for, confirmed rather than assumed.
• Insurance quotes for the actual address, especially in bushfire or flood-exposed areas.
• For investments: an independent written rental appraisal from a local property manager.

If the property is tenanted

Obtain the lease, bond details and rental ledger during due diligence, and confirm the terms that carry over on settlement. Rules around notice and vacant possession are set by Victorian residential tenancy law and have changed in recent years, so confirm current requirements with your conveyancer before assuming a settlement date.

Getting help with the process

Due diligence is largely a coordination problem: the right checks, in the right order, before the point of commitment. That is a core part of how we work, whether you are buying an investment property or a home. If you have found a property and want it assessed before you sign, request a call.