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What Is a Contract of Sale in Queensland? A Seller's Guide

The REIQ contract is the legal foundation of every Queensland property transaction. Understanding what it covers and what happens between signing and settlement gives you confidence at every step.

When a buyer makes an offer on your property and you accept it, that acceptance is formalised in a contract of sale. In Queensland, the standard form used for the vast majority of residential transactions is the REIQ (Real Estate Institute of Queensland) contract, which is jointly approved by the Queensland Law Society. It is a comprehensive document, but for most sellers the critical things to understand are: what the contract commits you to, what conditions can delay or prevent settlement, what the buyer's cooling-off period means for you, and what the path looks like from signing to settlement day.

What the REIQ contract covers

The REIQ contract sets out the terms of the sale in full. It records the purchase price, the deposit amount and when it must be paid, the settlement date, which inclusions and exclusions apply (such as fixed floor coverings, light fittings, or specific appliances), and any special conditions that the parties have agreed to. It also incorporates standard protections and obligations that apply to both parties under Queensland property law.

As a seller, you are committing to transfer clear title on the settlement date. If there is a mortgage over the property, your solicitor or conveyancer coordinates with your lender to have it discharged at settlement. You are also obliging yourself to maintain the property in the same condition as it was at the time of signing, which means any damage that occurs between contract and settlement is your responsibility to rectify before the buyer takes possession.

The deposit and how it works

The deposit is typically 10% of the purchase price, though in some negotiations buyers offer 5%, particularly at higher price points. It is paid into a trust account held by the selling agent or a solicitor and remains there until settlement. The deposit is not released to you before settlement unless both parties agree, or a cooling-off waiver has been signed and the contract becomes unconditional.

If the buyer fails to complete the purchase without a contractual justification, you may be entitled to retain the deposit as liquidated damages. However, the specific circumstances matter, and your solicitor's advice is essential before taking any action on a defaulting contract. The deposit is not a simple windfall and the process for claiming it is formal and legally prescribed.

Finance and building and pest conditions

Most offers from owner-occupiers and many from investors include a finance condition, which gives the buyer a defined period, typically five business days, to obtain unconditional loan approval. If the buyer cannot secure finance within that period they can terminate the contract and receive their deposit back. This is a standard and expected part of the process, not a red flag, but it does mean the contract is not certain until the finance condition is met or waived.

A building and pest inspection condition works similarly. The buyer hires an independent inspector, and if the report reveals significant defects, the buyer can negotiate a price reduction, request repairs, or in some cases terminate. What counts as a defect that justifies termination under a building and pest clause is a matter the contract defines carefully, and minor maintenance issues do not typically give buyers a right to walk away. If you have a pre-sale building and pest report done before going to market, it removes the uncertainty on your side and positions the inspection clause as a formality rather than an unknown risk.

Conditional versus unconditional contracts

A contract is conditional while any of the agreed conditions remain to be satisfied. Once all conditions are met or waived, the contract becomes unconditional, meaning both parties are legally bound to complete the transaction on the settlement date. From a seller's perspective, an unconditional contract is the point where you can act with certainty, make firm plans for your own next purchase or move, and instruct your solicitor to begin settlement preparation in earnest.

Cash buyers sometimes offer unconditional contracts from the outset, with no finance or building conditions. These can be attractive because they remove the risk of a conditional fall-through, but they do not necessarily command a premium over a well-conditioned offer from a buyer with strong pre-approval. The value of an unconditional offer depends on the buyer's credibility and the current depth of demand for your property.

The buyer's cooling-off period and what it means for sellers

In Queensland, buyers of residential properties have a statutory five-business-day cooling-off period starting from the day they receive a copy of the signed contract. During this period the buyer can terminate the contract for any reason by giving written notice. If they do, they forfeit 0.25% of the purchase price to the seller and receive the balance of their deposit back.

For sellers, the cooling-off period means that in the first five business days after signing you do not have a certain sale. Most buyers who proceed through the cooling-off period will complete the transaction, but there is no guarantee until those five days expire. It is common practice for buyers to waive their cooling-off rights in exchange for a seller concession or as part of a negotiated outcome, particularly at auction where there is no cooling-off right at all. Properties sold at auction are binding from the fall of the hammer, which is one reason vendors sometimes prefer the auction method when they want certainty quickly.

What happens between signing and settlement

The period between signing and settlement, which is typically 30 to 60 days but can be longer by agreement, involves parallel activity from both parties' legal representatives. Your solicitor or conveyancer will order a title search to confirm the current state of the title, prepare transfer documents, coordinate discharge of your mortgage if applicable, and manage adjustments to council rates, water charges, and body corporate levies so that costs are apportioned fairly as at settlement day.

The buyer's solicitor conducts due diligence searches, reviews title documents, and prepares for settlement. In Queensland, electronic settlement via PEXA has become the standard for most transactions, which means the actual settlement process is fast, the funds transfer is immediate, and title registration happens the same day or the next business day.

In the days before settlement, the buyer is entitled to a pre-settlement inspection to confirm the property is in the same condition as at contract date and that any agreed inclusions are still present. If you have done significant work on the property between contract and settlement, document it. If something has been damaged or altered, address it before the inspection rather than at it.

Getting proper legal advice

Your agent prepares and presents the contract, but they are not lawyers and cannot give you legal advice on its terms. Engaging a Queensland solicitor or licensed conveyancer before you sign is strongly recommended. The cost of proper conveyancing advice is small relative to the transaction, and understanding what you are signing before you sign it avoids the kind of surprises that cost far more to resolve after the fact.