Sustainability Declaration MUST GO!
By Alan Liddle
www.adlsoftware.com
(The above article represents the opinion of Alan Liddle and is not meant as professional advice nor is it necessarily the
opinion of A.D.L. Software.)
The Government has yet again burdened the Real Estate
industry with more paperwork, under the threat of hefty
fines, to perform a marketing campaign on their behalf.
The new Sustainability Declaration is ludicrous in the extreme.
It is discriminatory, costly (time, effort, paper, heavy fines &
possible litigation) to both Sellers and Agents, contradictory,
absolutely non-productive and just a smoke screen anyway.
Bear in mind that the declaration process is supposed to be a
simple marketing aid.
The declaration requirements act as a brake on effective real
estate marketing. There will inevitably be homes that do not
receive sufficient marketing exposure and home owners may
suffer lower realised sale prices as a result.
Discrimination
When drafting this legislation the Government gave absolutely
no thought to the many people who will be severely
disadvantaged by it.
The Government wants buyers to make an informed decision
regarding the property that will affect its market value and
make judgements based on a form that may be incomplete,
partially completed or fully completed. This effectively means
that a property’s sustainability form will become part of the
buyer’s decision making process.
Legislation is quite specific in that the seller must complete “the
declaration to the best of the person’s ability” (Section 246C of
the Sustainable Planning Act 2009). Unfortunately there are
many socioeconomic groups in the community who are
disadvantaged financially or otherwise who will be far less able
to complete the declaration than others.
The legislation also discriminates against people who own
older homes and/or can’t afford to improve the sustainability of
their homes. Because the declaration is designed to draw
attention to eco-friendly fittings etc, older homes that have not
been suitably upgraded will be potentially devalued.
Home owners and real estate agents are also severely
discriminated against for having to bare the brunt of the
responsibility of providing consumer education under the threat
of hefty fines and possible litigation.
Consumers Face Potential Heavy Fines
The Government have downplayed the fact that there are hefty
fines for failing to complete “the declaration to the best of the
person’s ability”. A property owner can be fined up to $2,000
for not doing so.
The Act is quite specific in its example stating that a feature
need not be completed “if the person can not reasonably find
out the information”
End of Part One see Part 2 for the rest of the article
