This legal victory shows that the Sunset Clause Laws introduced in NSW in November 2015 have real teeth and provide real protection for off the plan buyers.
What is particularly interesting from my point of view is the fact that the property developer did a good job at explaining the delays were due to circumstances out of their control, particularly the builder going into administration, resulting in the appointment of a new builder to complete the building. They demonstrated that they were not the type of developer targeted by the Minister when introducing the new laws, i.e. a developer who manipulated events or manufactured delays so as to obtain a commercial advantage to rescind and re-sell at a profit.
However in this case, the deciding factor was the adverse effect on the purchasers if the Contracts were to be rescinded. Not only would they lose the capital gain on the apartment, but they would not be able to purchase equivalent elsewhere. The judge also took into account the social benefits the purchasers gained by what he called “lifestyle” choices: in a society where property ownership is highly valued and affords status to those who attain it.
If you would like to find out more details, click on this link to my case note on the decision Sunset Clause Law bites property developer