abc.net.au/news/sunset-clause-crackdown-to-protect-home-buyers/102461006A Gold Coast man says he had his home ownership dreams shattered after a developer used a termination clause to rip up his vacant land contract before offering to sell it back for an extra $200,000.
Mr Lees said, in March last year, the couple was informed the developer had invoked the sunset clause and terminated their contract but they got their deposit back. "It was really stressful, the financial stress was hard and then we ended up separating because there was just too much going on.""Because house prices and land values went up so much in that time, I'm now stuck out of the housing market," he said."The consequences for me not even being able to pull out of that contract [early] to get my deposit back, to purchase somewhere else while house prices were rising, is also dire.
"The statutory period was reached as a result of extended delays caused by a neighbouring landowner and Gold Coast City Council delays in approving the plan for the subdivision," the spokesman said. "Since the pandemic, Queensland's building industry has faced difficulties with supply chain issues, labour shortages and increased costs for building supplies," she said."Following these challenging market conditions, there have been a number of reports of developers invoking a sunset clause to terminate an 'off-the-plan' contract allegedly in order to re-list and sell the proposed lot for a much higher price.