Buyers' agents receive key legal recognition in NSW

By clarifying their involvement in property transactions, the new Residential Conveyancing Protocol recognises buyers’ agents alongside selling agents and solicitors, and includes the following:

• The purchaser may appoint a buyers’ agent to search for properties, inspect and short list properties, conduct research, organise due diligence, negotiate and bid at auction on their behalf.
• Where the purchaser appoints a buyers’ agent, the seller’s agent must deal with the buyers’ agent rather than the purchaser, unless the purchaser instructs otherwise.
• The buyers’ agent must take reasonable steps to identify the purchaser prior to accepting the appointment.
• Where the deposit is held by the buyer’s agent, if any part of it is dishonoured or not met on presentation, the buyer’s agent must immediately notify the vendor’s solicitor verbally and then in writing as soon as possible.
• The buyer’s agent must confirm in writing to both the vendor’s solicitor and the purchaser’s solicitor, the amount of deposit held by the buyer’s agent as stakeholder as soon as possible after exchange.

The Law Society’s move comes following a campaign led by the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales, which argued that given the popularity of buyers’ agents in NSW, their growing involvement in property transactions needed to be appropriately recoginised.

“We also felt there would be some solicitors and conveyancers who may be less familiar with working with buyers’ agents, and it was time to clarify our value in the process for the benefit of all the stakeholders,” said Nick Viner from Buyers Domain, who chairs the REINSW Buyers’ Agents Chapter Committee.

“To our enormous satisfaction, we have been delighted that the Law Society were happy to make the changes,” Mr Viner concluded.

The new Residential Conveyancing Protocol is now live on The Law Society of NSW’s website.