What if a section 32 is defective?
It is an offence to provide false or incomplete information in a section 32, and the intentional omission or deception may give rise to the purchaser terminating the contract. However, where an omission was accidental, or where the purchaser is in substantially the same position they would be in had the information been provided, and a court would be satisfied the vendor has otherwise acted honestly and reasonably and ought fairly to be excused for the contravention, a purchaser would not have the power to rescind the contract of sale.
There are numerous cases where a vendor failed to disclose information such as planning permits being rejected because their solicitor or conveyancer did not take the correct instruction when preparing the sale documents. The purchasers then received incorrect advice that they would have grounds to terminate the contract without considering whether the vendor was intentionally providing incomplete information. Ultimately the vendor was found to have acted honestly and reasonably as the fault was by their legal representative, the purchasers were found not have successfully terminated their contracts, lost their deposits, and became liable to pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs.
The cases highlight the importance of obtaining proper legal advice from an experienced conveyancer before entering into a contract, or exercising any right that you think you may have.