rates while under contract
- Thread starter rowena
- Start date
what about water and electricity?
they will read the meter at settlement and close the bill with previous owner and charge you accordingly for your water/electricity?
they will read the meter at settlement and close the bill with previous owner and charge you accordingly for your water/electricity?
You might check with your solicitor whether you should take out building insurance as you would have an equitable interest in the property.
All other expenses are adjusted at settlement.
All other expenses are adjusted at settlement.
SNM raises a good point.
In Qld property is usually at buyers risk from contract to settlement and obviously thereafter. Unless the contract has a clause to state otherwise, get insurance coverage for building with haste.
** EDIT ** Wylie has already mentioned this. I should read full posts before replying
Last edited:
The solicitors will adjust for Council Rates, and also QLD Urban Utilities water rates (and Body Corp levies if applicable). I'm not sure about any other QLD water providers as I only know for Brisbane area.
The electricity meter will be read when you change that into your name at settlement. That's something that you need to do yourself.
And as others have said, you need Building insurance from contract date in QLD. If it's a unit, that's not necessary (as the body corp insurance is ongoing), and you don't need landlord insurance until you settle.
Matt
hi
just got a friend who settled a few months ago, and conveyancer has forgotten to adjust water rates (Unity Water...Moreton Bay Region). Now Unity Water are chasing the debt from him. He has been chasign up the conveyancer, however still no luck getting them to fix the mistake and now Unity Water want to get debt collectors Dun & Bradstreet on board.
Can anyone please tell me legally who's responsibility it is now?
Thanks for your help.
just got a friend who settled a few months ago, and conveyancer has forgotten to adjust water rates (Unity Water...Moreton Bay Region). Now Unity Water are chasing the debt from him. He has been chasign up the conveyancer, however still no luck getting them to fix the mistake and now Unity Water want to get debt collectors Dun & Bradstreet on board.
Can anyone please tell me legally who's responsibility it is now?
Thanks for your help.
I had a similar thing happen to me back in 1994. In my case it was council rates. The vendor hadn't paid them for quite a while and it wasn't picked up by my solicitor. When I approached him to fix it he said 'no problem' and then had to cheek to try and bill me for fixing his mistake.
I refused to pay, he threatened to sue me, but a call to the relevent authority who back then oversaw solicitors (probably the insurance ombudsman these days) ended with him sending me a letter absolving me of the cost without admitting fault.
Edited to add ... I should mention that I paid the rates myself to get the Council off my back and then relied on the Solicitor to get the money back for me, which he did, and then tried to bill me. So not quite the same as your friend, but the fact that my solicitor eventually capitulated does sort of suggest that it is the conveyancer's responsibility to check these things.
