Updated 31 October 2026
Contract for Sales - Seller’s Most Asked Questions #46. What are the environmental concerns when selling a property?
What environmental issues should you check before selling a property?
Before selling a NSW property, check contamination, asbestos, flooding, bushfire exposure, drainage, mould and restrictions affecting vegetation or development. Identify relevant reports, approvals and notices, then have your lawyer assess the contract and disclosure requirements. Environmental problems can affect safety, insurance, development options, negotiations and the cost of completing the sale.
Start with what you already know: past flooding, buried waste, industrial uses, asbestos work, council correspondence and insurance claims. Give those records to your lawyer early.
- Check the land’s history and planning information.
- Investigate warning signs with an appropriately qualified specialist.
- Ensure the contract and advertising accurately describe relevant issues.
What must sellers and real estate agents disclose?
Sellers must comply with prescribed contract-document and warranty requirements, while real estate agents have separate duties concerning misleading statements and prescribed material facts. These rules should not be reduced to a claim that every seller must disclose every possible defect. Give your lawyer complete information so the applicable obligations can be assessed.
The Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 prescribes attachments and warranties. These do not amount to a general guarantee that land is free of environmental hazards. Particular notices, contract terms, representations and surrounding circumstances can create further issues.
Under NSW agent guidance, prescribed material facts include natural-weather flooding or bushfire within the previous five years, significant health or safety risks, and listing on the loose-fill asbestos register. Agents must disclose prescribed facts they know or ought reasonably to know.
Tell the agent about relevant events and reports. Avoid unsupported assurances, incomplete answers or attempts to conceal a known problem.
What does a section 10.7 planning certificate tell you?
A section 10.7 planning certificate identifies prescribed planning controls and land-status information, including relevant hazards and restrictions. The basic certificate belongs in the sale contract; additional council information may be available through section 10.7(5). Neither certificate replaces an environmental investigation or guarantees that contamination, flooding or other physical problems are absent.
NSW Planning explains the two certificate types. Ask your lawyer whether the combined certificate and further council records are appropriate. Review contamination notations, flood-related controls, bushfire designation, heritage information and other relevant constraints.
Check the underlying documents where a notation raises concerns. A certificate records specified information; it is not approval for a buyer’s proposed redevelopment or a promise that insurance will be available.
How should suspected land contamination be investigated?
Suspected contamination requires investigation of the property’s history, existing reports, council records and relevant EPA information. Buried waste, imported fill, fuel storage or former industrial activity may justify specialist assessment. A missing register entry does not establish that land is clean, and selling the property does not automatically resolve existing regulatory responsibilities.
Search both the EPA’s notified-sites information and record of notices. They serve different purposes, and a notification does not necessarily mean EPA regulation is required.
A contaminated-land consultant can assess whether sampling, remediation or further reporting is needed. Give your lawyer investigation reports, remediation records, validation reports and any continuing management requirements.
The duty to report contamination depends on section 60’s statutory criteria; it does not apply to every trace or suspicion. Where triggered, reporting must occur as soon as practicable. Do not postpone advice until a purchaser discovers the issue.
How is ordinary asbestos different from loose-fill asbestos insulation?
Ordinary asbestos-containing building materials and loose-fill asbestos insulation require different checks. The NSW loose-fill register records confirmed loose-fill insulation, not every form of asbestos. Absence from that register does not prove a home is asbestos-free. Obtain specialist advice about suspected materials, their condition and any disclosure, management or removal requirements.
An ordinary residential sale does not create a universal requirement to remove all asbestos. However, significant safety risks, registered loose-fill insulation, notices and misleading statements can engage separate legal obligations.
Check the loose-fill register, existing inspection reports and removal records. Do not disturb suspected materials to prepare the home for sale. Use appropriately qualified specialists and licensed removalists where required, retaining relevant clearance and disposal documentation.
A standard visual building inspection should not be advertised as an asbestos clearance.
How do flood and bushfire risks affect the sale?
Flood and bushfire exposure can affect building controls, insurance and a buyer’s intended use. Check current council information, the planning certificate and available hazard mapping, and distinguish a mapped risk from an actual past event. A property can face future exposure even if it has not flooded or burned during your ownership.
The Rural Fire Service mapping tool assists preliminary checks; its result is current only at the enquiry date. Council’s planning certificate confirms bushfire-prone designation.
Collect records of previous events, repairs and insurance claims. The agent’s five-year event-disclosure rule does not mean older events or continuing risks are irrelevant. Avoid describing land as flood-free or bushfire-safe without a sound basis.
Do trees, heritage controls and water systems need checking?
Protected vegetation, heritage controls and water or sewage systems may restrict work a seller or buyer wants to undertake. Check applicable approvals before clearing, demolition or repairs, and identify relevant management obligations. A property’s appearance or previous use does not establish that proposed works or existing systems comply with all requirements.
NSW tree-protection guidance directs owners to check council controls before clearing. Heritage items, conservation areas and native vegetation may require additional assessment.
For properties with septic systems, bores or rainwater supplies, gather approvals, maintenance records and relevant water-quality information. Have your lawyer check any operating approvals, licences or transfer requirements. Do not promise that tank or bore water is suitable for drinking without appropriate evidence.
Should mould and damp be addressed before advertising?
Investigate the cause of mould or damp before treating the visible surface or describing the problem as resolved. Leaks, drainage defects and inadequate ventilation may need different responses. Keep evidence of investigations and repairs, and tell your lawyer about unresolved problems, particularly where they may create significant health or safety risks.
NSW Health explains that mould can return unless the moisture problem is addressed. A building consultant can help assess persistent damp or water entry.
Painting over staining may leave the underlying defect unchanged. If repairs are proposed, confirm their scope, approvals where needed and completion evidence before making promises to buyers.
Must an existing home be upgraded for energy efficiency before sale?
Selling an existing home does not, by itself, trigger a general BASIX retrofit obligation. BASIX requirements relate to qualifying development, including new dwellings and specified alterations. Check existing approvals and commitments, and describe solar panels, insulation and water-saving features accurately rather than assuming every feature is compliant, owned outright or transferable.
The BASIX framework identifies development triggers. If works were undertaken, check the applicable approval documents and completion records.
Collect solar installation documents, warranties and any finance, lease or power-purchase agreement. ACCC guidance highlights ownership and contract issues; transfer or exit terms need review.
Ask the agent to substantiate environmental claims. Installed capacity and documented specifications are clearer than unsupported promises of zero bills, carbon neutrality or guaranteed savings.
What does the 191 Bells contamination case demonstrate?
In 191 Bells Pty Ltd v WJ & HL Crittle Pty Ltd [2024] NSWCA 221, the Court of Appeal dismissed a purchaser’s contamination-related appeal. An obligation to assist due diligence did not create the broad voluntary disclosure duty alleged. The decision shows why contractual wording, representations and the transaction’s circumstances require careful examination.
The purchaser entered an option arrangement for land at Meroo Meadow intended for residential development. Later investigations found buried waste, including asbestos-containing material. The purchaser sought to have the option deed declared void, alleging misleading or deceptive conduct.
The appeal was dismissed with costs. The relevant disclosures did not represent that the land was contamination-free.
This was a commercial development dispute, not a general exemption for home sellers. It does not authorise concealment, remove statutory duties or establish that an “as is” clause defeats every claim.
What should you give your lawyer before the property is listed?
Give your lawyer the property’s environmental history, reports, notices, approvals and relevant correspondence before advertising. Ask which contract disclosures, further searches or specialist investigations are needed. Agree how unresolved issues will be described and addressed, and keep the agent informed so the marketing, inspection answers and contract remain consistent.
Prepare a file containing:
- Council and EPA correspondence, planning information and relevant notices.
- Flood, fire, asbestos, contamination and drainage reports or records.
- Repair invoices, removal records, approvals and continuing management requirements.
- Solar ownership documents and details of relevant water or sewage systems.
NSW sale-contract guidance requires preparation before residential property is offered for sale. Contact Christine Manolakos and CM Lawyers to have the sale contract, disclosures and proposed conditions checked before listing.
General information about property sales in NSW, not individual legal advice. Have a lawyer check the environmental information, disclosure obligations and sale contract against the property’s circumstances.
Key resources
NSW sale-contract requirements and Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022 — prescribed documents and vendor warranties.
NSW guidance on agent misrepresentation — prescribed material facts and accurate property marketing.
NSW planning certificates and RFS bushfire mapping — planning controls, hazard information and mapping limits.
EPA notified and regulated land and duty to report contamination — searches, regulatory status and reporting criteria.
Loose-fill asbestos register and SafeWork asbestos removal guidance — register limits and specialist removal requirements.
NSW tree and vegetation protection — checking approvals before clearing.
NSW Health: Mould — moisture causes, prevention and appropriate professional assistance.
BASIX, ACCC solar guidance and environmental claims — development requirements, ownership and supported marketing statements.
191 Bells Pty Ltd v WJ & HL Crittle Pty Ltd [2024] NSWCA 221 — judgment concerning contamination and disclosure.
