Posts in Property & Development
Thinking of selling or buying in the near future? Some important changes are coming to keep in mind…

The 2017/2018 Budget includes a number of significant changes in the property sector that will have an impact on all property transactions and in particular for foreign investors, investors, developers and first home buyers. We have summarized a number of the changes that you should keep in mind when buying or selling from 1 July 2017.

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When can a retail shop landlord refuse a tenant's request to assign the lease? Not often

Usually, the terms of a lease will require a tenant to obtain the landlord's consent before the tenant may assign their lease to a proposed new tenant (the New Tenant).  As a general condition of all leases in New South Wales, the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) (Conveyancing Act) prohibits a landlord from unreasonably withholding consent to an assignment of a lease.

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Transferring shares in a corporate trustee – beware the potential duty cost

Most accountants and lawyers are aware of the duty implications of changing a trustee of a trust that holds dutiable property in New South Wales – as long as any new trustee or continuing trustee cannot benefit under the trust, the duty payable on a transfer of dutiable property to the new trustee or continuing trustee will only be $50.

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Foreign person surcharge – do I need to amend my trust deed?

After the introduction of land tax and duty surcharges for foreign persons acquiring or holding residential land in NSW, it was thought that discretionary and certain hybrid trust deeds needed to be amended by no later than 31 December 2016 to ensure that the surcharges would not be imposed on those trusts.

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UPDATE – Appeal Dismissed – Court confirms $60 million windfall gain
Error in your PPSR Registration? Court confirms (yet again) the cost of getting it wrong.

The growing jurisprudence in Australia in relation to the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) has demonstrated, once again, how a defective registration on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) can result in a security interest being unenforceable upon the grantor of that security interest becoming insolvent.

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