The reference was the result of a move to clarify the obligations of, and provide some statutory guarantees for, vendors and purchasers of land. The Committee was of the opinion that aspects of the law were unjust since minor oversights by a purchaser of land might result in the vendor being able to deprive the purchaser of the benefit of the bargain, or any increase in the value of the property resulting from a rising market or improvements made by the purchaser.
Terms of Reference
In 1968, the Committee was asked to consider the law applicable to a defaulting purchaser under a terms contract for the sale of land and to report upon the need for reform. In the same year the reference was widened to include consideration of the Vendor and Purchaser Act 1878 (WA), the Sale of Land (Vendor’s Obligations) Act 1940 (WA), and the Purchasers’ Protection Act 1933–1948 (WA) and to assess the viability of consolidation of these Acts into a single statute.
Outcomes
The Sale of Land Act 1970 (WA) gave effect to the Committee’s recommendations.
See Western Australia, Government Gazette, 21 January 1971, 149; Western Australia Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, 12 November 1970, 2092–2107 (Mr IG Medcalf); Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 18 November 1970, 2351 (Mr C Court, Minister for Industrial Development and the North West).
