QLD Can a Real Estate imply I have signed a contract to my current Landlord???

[Kelson]

Hi

First home buyer here so I have never dealt with a Real Estate before. A few things have annoyed me regarding my first purchase and I am curious if something illegal has gone on?

Firstly the property I am buying is actually being sold by not the Agent but another employee at the Real Estate. This was found out as I googled the Sellers name.

Secondly and more importantly the Agent came to my current house which I am renting to negotiate the final terms of the contract. A few days later I was made aware that the same Agent somehow contacted the landlord stating I may have signed a contract on another property and was she interested in selling the house as I may be moving out soon.

My landlord actually rang me a few days later and asked if this were true. This put me in a real difficult situation as at the time finance was not approved nor was Building/Pest carried out.

Thanks.

 

[Rod]

1. You are buying through an agency business, not an individual agent.

2. The agent who contacted your landlord has breached the REIQ code of conduct and can be reported to REIQ.

Read this: What to do if you have a Complaint

If you suffer any losses post back here. I'm not sure atm if you can claim damages.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

I think you might have a complaint through the REIQ, but it’s not clear cut. Firstly, check to see if the agency is a member of the REIQ. Most are but not all. Then there is the question of whether they have breached a requirement. The most relevant I can see is to not disclose sensitive or confidential information, but there is no guidance I can see as to what this includes within the Standards.

Even if it is a breach, it’s doubtful it is ‘illegal’. The Standards don’t appear to be a legal requirement backed by legislation. Instead, they do appear to be a voluntary set of standards which are a condition of membership. This means that a breach of them is in the vein of a breach of contract.

These comments don’t include a broader examination of the privacy laws that may or may not apply to the agency.

 

[Rod]

they do appear to be a voluntary set of standards which are a condition of membership. This means that a breach of them is in the vein of a breach of contract

I'm curious about the linkage between REIQ standards and breach of contract. What is the legal theory tying these two matters together?

The purchaser does not enter into a contract with the vendor's agent so I am curious about how contract law gets involved.

 

[Kelson]

Not interested in suing for damages etc. I just want to report them to a relevant authority as it really put me in a hard spot at the time.

I put a contract on a house and none of the conditions (finance/building and pest) were satisfied. Two or three days after signing the contract I got a phone call from the current owner of the property asking me if I intend to move out as she had a call from the real estate I purchased off.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

I'm curious about the linkage between REIQ standards and breach of contract. What is the legal theory tying these two matters together?

The purchaser does not enter into a contract with the vendor's agent so I am curious about how contract law gets involved.

Not in terms of a contract between the purchaser and the agent, but a contract between the agency and the REIQ. Membership in the REIQ would almost certainly involve an agreement to abide by the standards as a fundamental terms of the membership contract. My point for this is the poster's request as to whether there was any illegality in the agent's action.

 

[Rod]

Thank you for the clarification.