If you are buying property in Victoria, the vendor must give you a document before you sign: the vendor’s statement, universally called the Section 32 after the part of the Sale of Land Act 1962 that requires it. It is the single most useful document in the transaction, and the one most buyers skim.
What a Section 32 must contain
- Title particulars — a copy of the certificate of title and the plan, plus any mortgages, covenants, caveats or easements registered on it.
- Rates and outgoings — council rates, water, land tax and owners corporation fees, so you can estimate the running cost.
- Building permits in the last seven years, and any owner-builder insurance.
- Planning information — the zone and any overlays affecting the land.
- Services connected — electricity, gas, water, sewerage and telephone.
- Notices and orders from any authority affecting the property.
- Owners corporation certificate, where the property is in one.
What to actually look for
Covenants and Section 173 agreements
A restrictive covenant can limit what you build — single dwelling only, minimum floor area, no subdivision, sometimes even building materials. A Section 173 agreement is a contract with the council registered on title and binds you as the new owner. Both survive the sale. If your plan for the property involves building anything, these decide whether that plan is possible.
Easements
An easement gives someone else a right over part of your land — usually a drainage or sewer authority. You generally cannot build over it, which can quietly remove the exact part of the block you were planning to extend into.
Missing building permits
If there is a pergola, carport, deck or extension on the property and no permit in the Section 32, ask why. Unpermitted works become your problem the day you settle, and council can require rectification or removal.
Owners corporation certificate
For an apartment or townhouse, read the levies, the balance of the maintenance fund, any planned or special levy, and whether the owners corporation is in dispute or litigation. A cheap apartment with a $40,000 special levy coming is not a cheap apartment.
What a Section 32 does not tell you
It is a disclosure document, not a condition report. It says nothing about the state of the roof, whether the stumps are sound, or whether there is termite damage. It does not value the property. And it does not cover everything a search would reveal — which is why your lawyer orders further searches during the contract period.
When to get it reviewed
Before you sign or bid. This matters more than anything else in this article. A private sale gives you a three-business-day cooling-off period with a penalty; buying at auction gives you none at all. Once the hammer falls you are bound by the contract exactly as it is.
A pre-purchase review is inexpensive relative to what it protects, and it is the highest-value hour in the whole transaction.