Buying a House Privately in QLD: How a Private Sale Works and What to Check
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
Buying a house privately in QLD means buying straight from the owner, with no real estate agent acting for the seller. Most of the protections of an agent sale still apply: the seller must give you a disclosure statement and certificates before you sign,[1] the contract must carry the cooling-off warning statement directly above your signature, and you get a 5-business-day cooling-off period.[2]
What changes is that nobody is running the sale. There is no agent to field offers, show you sales evidence or hold your deposit in an agency trust account, so those jobs fall to you, your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor. The Queensland Government’s advice is to be careful, always have a solicitor check the contract before you sign, and not to sign if you are not comfortable with the sale.[2]
Key takeaways
- Private sellers must give you the disclosure statement (form 2) and certificates before you sign, or you may be able to end the contract up to settlement.[1]
- The 5-business-day cooling-off period applies to private sales. Ending the contract in that time can cost up to 0.25% of the price.[3]
- Don’t sign a contract without the warning statement directly above your signature, and have your own solicitor check it first.[2]
- Pay the deposit only to the deposit holder named in the contract, and confirm the bank details by phone on a number you found yourself.[4]
- Get your own valuation and inspections: the disclosure statement doesn’t cover the building’s structural soundness or flooding history.[1]
What buying a house privately means in Queensland
“Private sale” is used in two ways. In listings it often means a private treaty sale: the home is advertised, buyers make offers and the price is negotiated rather than bid at auction. The Queensland Government calls this the most common way to sell, and the seller usually has an agent’s help.[5]
Buying privately means there is no agent acting for the seller at all: you deal with the owner, and the owner’s solicitor or conveyancer, directly.[2]
Some private sales are never advertised. Our guide to on-market, pre-market and off-market property in Queensland calls these direct-to-owner sales: no agent, no public marketing, and a deal that needs careful handling. Most off-market property is different, because the seller has appointed an agent and told them not to advertise.
Agent sale and private sale compared
| What | Sale through an agent | Private sale, no agent |
|---|---|---|
| Who you deal with | The seller’s agent, who acts for the seller | The owner, and the owner’s solicitor or conveyancer |
| The contract | You can put your offer into a contract the agent provides[6] | Comes from the seller; the standard REIQ/QLS contract is supplied to Queensland Law Society members[7] |
| Disclosure statement and certificates | Given to you before you sign[1] | The same: the seller must give them before you sign[1] |
| Warning statement and cooling-off | Yes, 5 business days, except at auction[3] | Yes, 5 business days[3] |
| Who holds the deposit | The deposit holder in the contract; agents’ trust accounts are regulated by the Office of Fair Trading[8] | The deposit holder in the contract, such as a solicitor’s trust account; these report to the Queensland Law Society[8] |
| Price evidence | The advertised price, plus your own research | Your own: an independent valuation and the asking prices of similar homes[2] |
| Negotiation | Through the agent | With the owner, or through your solicitor or buyer’s agent |
| Transfer duty | Payable by you | The same[9] |
The rules that still apply in a private sale
The seller disclosure statement
Since 1 August 2025, the seller disclosure scheme under the Property Law Act 2023 has required sellers to give buyers key information about a property before a contract is signed. The duty sits with the seller, and an agent only does it for them if authorised, so a private seller must give you the completed disclosure statement (form 2) and the prescribed certificates before you sign, in person, by post or electronically.[1]
The statement covers the title and encumbrances, any tenancy, zoning, transport infrastructure and resumption notices, contaminated land listings, tree orders, heritage listing, and whether there is a pool. The certificates can include a title search and survey plan, a pool safety certificate if there is one, and for a unit or townhouse, the community management statement and a body corporate certificate.[1]
If you don’t receive the documents, or they are inaccurate or incomplete, you may be able to end the contract at any time up to settlement. For a mistake or gap, you must show it was material, that you didn’t know about it when you signed, and that you wouldn’t have signed if you had. Some sales are exempt, such as a sale between related parties, or a sale over $10 million where the buyer waives disclosure.[1]
The warning statement and cooling-off period
The Property Occupations Act 2014’s rules for residential sales apply to contracts for the sale of residential property, with or without an agent. The main exclusions are auction contracts and a few buyers, such as listed companies and the State.[3]
When the seller first gives you a contract to sign, it must include the warning statement once, immediately above and on the same page as the place where you sign. A seller who personally hands over a contract without it commits an offence. The statement warns of the cooling-off period and its 0.25% penalty, and recommends an independent valuation and legal advice before you sign.[3]
The cooling-off period starts on the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. To end the contract in that time, give the seller a signed notice of termination. The seller can keep up to 0.25% of the price from your deposit, which is up to $2,000 on an $800,000 home, and must refund the rest within 14 days. You can also waive or shorten the period by written notice,[3] so talk to your solicitor before you agree to either. Our guide to the QLD cooling-off period has the detail.
When an agent is selling, you can often put your offer into a contract the agent provides.[6] In a private sale the contract comes from the seller instead. The REIQ/QLS standard contracts are the most common sale contracts in Queensland, and the Queensland Law Society supplies them to its members,[7] so a private seller using one will normally have it prepared by their solicitor.
Whoever prepares it, the contract only becomes binding when you and the seller have both signed. Take a copy to your own solicitor or conveyancer first, and don’t be pressured into signing before they have read it. Any condition you need, such as finance, a building and pest inspection or the sale of your current home, must be written into the contract, or it won’t be binding.[6]
Use your own solicitor, not the seller’s. Our guides to the contract of sale in QLD and conveyancing in QLD explain the contract and your solicitor’s role.
Real estate agents and solicitors both operate trust accounts: an agent’s is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading, and a solicitor’s reports to the Queensland Law Society.[8] With no agent involved, make sure the contract names a deposit holder with a trust account, such as the seller’s solicitor, and never pay a deposit into the seller’s personal account or in cash.
Once the contract is binding, pay the deposit as the contract sets out, which is normally within 2 to 3 days. If you pay part of a deposit with your offer and the seller rejects the offer, the money comes back to you.[6]
Confirm the bank details by phone
The Commonwealth Bank reports that Scamwatch classes property settlement scams as payment redirection scams, which cost Australians $166.8 million in 2025. Before you transfer a deposit, ring the deposit holder on a number you saved or found yourself and confirm the account details out loud. Don’t rely on bank details sent in writing, however genuine they look, and treat pressure to pay urgently as a warning sign.[4]
With no agent’s advertised price to work from, pricing is your job. The Queensland Government’s checklist for buying privately is to get an independent valuation, find the asking prices of similar properties in listings and at open homes, and get building, pest and swimming pool inspections.[2] If the seller requires you to pay for a valuation, they must give you a copy before you sign the contract.[3] Our guide to property valuation in Brisbane compares bank, independent and online valuations.
What the disclosure statement leaves out
The disclosure statement is not a building report. Sellers don’t have to include the structural soundness of the building, its flooding history or previous building and development approvals.[1] Book a building and pest inspection with an inspector who holds a current QBCC licence,[10] check the council’s flood information for the address, and ask your solicitor which other searches to order.
The title search
A current title search shows the owners of the land and other registered interests, including mortgages, easements, covenants, leases and caveats. You can buy one from Titles Queensland for $25.71 excluding GST,[11] and the seller’s prescribed certificates can include one too.[1] Check that the owners on the title are the people selling to you.
Pools
If there is a pool, the seller must give you a copy of a current pool safety certificate before settlement. If there isn’t one, the seller must lodge a Form 36 notice of no pool safety certificate with the QBCC and give you a copy before settlement, and you must then get a certificate within 90 days of settlement,[12] so have the pool inspected before you sign.
Negotiating with an owner is more personal than dealing through an agent. There is no go-between to pass on offers or tell you what the seller might accept, and the owner may have firm views on price. Put your offer in writing, with the price, deposit and settlement date you want, because those are what the contract will set out.[6]
If you need a loan, get pre-approval before you negotiate; the mortgage brokers we work with can help. Then keep the conditions you need in the offer, because a condition that isn’t written into the contract isn’t binding.[6] Anything else you agree in conversation, such as what stays with the house or repairs before settlement, should go into the contract too; ask your solicitor to write it in. If you are selling a home to buy this one, our guide to subject-to-sale offers explains how that condition works.
A private sale is not automatically cheaper. The seller saves an agent’s commission, but as our off-market guide points out, sellers still aim for market value. Base your offer on the valuation and the asking prices of similar homes, not on the commission the owner is saving.
Stop and call your solicitor if you see any of these:
- You are asked to sign before you have the disclosure statement and certificates.[1]
- The contract has no warning statement directly above the place where you sign.[2]
- You are pressed to sign before your solicitor has read the contract.[6]
- The deposit is to go to the seller personally, in cash, or into an account you can’t confirm by phone.[4]
- The owners on the title search are not the people selling to you.[11]
- The owner won’t allow building, pest or pool inspections.
- You are asked to pay for a valuation you won’t see before you sign.[3]
IPS works only for buyers, never sellers. In a private sale we check the asking price against recent sales, negotiate with the owner for you, keep the contract’s conditions and dates on track, and work with your broker, building and pest inspector and solicitor through to settlement. Owners also contact us from time to time to ask whether we have a buyer, as our off-market guide describes. See our buyer’s agent services for how we work, and how we secured an off-market home in Deception Bay for a first-home buyer.
We don’t replace your solicitor: the contract, disclosure documents and searches are legal work, and our guide to the settlement process in QLD shows how they come together.
- Finance. Get pre-approval so you know your limit before you talk price.
- Price. Get an independent valuation and compare the asking prices of similar homes.[2]
- Disclosure. Get the disclosure statement and certificates before you sign, and read them with your solicitor.[1]
- Inspections. Book building and pest inspections, and a pool inspection if there is a pool,[2] and check the council’s flood information.
- Contract. Have your solicitor check the contract, the warning statement and your conditions before you sign.[6]
- Deposit. Pay only the deposit holder named in the contract, after confirming the account by phone.[4]
- Costs. Budget for transfer duty, which applies when you buy property, privately or not; its liability date is usually the contract date, not settlement.[9] Our property purchase calculator estimates it, and our list of the costs of buying a house in QLD covers the rest.
A private sale removes the agent, not the rules,[1][3] but the checking and pricing an agent would otherwise handle are down to you and your advisers. For the whole process, see our 12 steps to buying a house in QLD.
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is not legal, financial or tax advice and does not consider your circumstances. Check the rules for your purchase with your solicitor or conveyancer before you act.
If you are thinking of buying a home privately, book a time with Tim Allen to talk it through.
- Queensland Government — Seller disclosure scheme (Property Law Act 2023; last updated 21 July 2025)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Buying privately (last updated 28 October 2020)
- Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld) — Part 7, Residential property sales, sections 159–168 (reprint current from 1 August 2025)
- Commonwealth Bank Newsroom — Property settlement scam risk rising (9 September 2026)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Selling by treaty or tender (last updated 13 April 2026)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Contract of sale for buying a home (last updated 23 July 2025)
- Queensland Law Society — REIQ property contracts (Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Residential Real Estate, 1st edition, October 2026)
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Managing trust accounts (last updated 17 June 2026)
- Queensland Revenue Office — Transfer duty
- Queensland Government (Office of Fair Trading) — Selling privately (last updated 29 October 2020)
- Titles Queensland — Title searches (current title search: what it shows and its price, read 6 November 2026)
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission — Buy, sell or lease a property with a pool (last reviewed 15 May 2025)
Can you buy a house without a real estate agent in Queensland?
Yes. You can buy directly from an owner, and the Queensland Government publishes guidance on buying privately. The main protections still apply: a disclosure statement and certificates before you sign, the cooling-off warning statement in the contract, and 5 business days to cool off. The Government’s advice is to have a solicitor check the contract before you sign.
Does the cooling-off period apply to a private sale in QLD?
Yes. The cooling-off rules apply to residential sale contracts with or without an agent; contracts formed at auction are the main exception. The period is 5 business days, from the day you receive a copy of the contract signed by both parties until 5pm on the fifth business day. If you end the contract, the seller can keep up to 0.25% of the price and must refund the rest within 14 days.
Who holds the deposit when you buy a house privately?
Whoever the contract names as the deposit holder. With no agent, ask for one with a trust account, such as the seller’s solicitor. Never pay the seller personally or in cash, and confirm the account details by phone, on a number you found yourself, before you transfer anything: property payments are a target for payment redirection scams.
Do I need a solicitor to buy a house privately in QLD?
The Queensland Government’s advice for buying privately is to always get a solicitor to check the contract before you sign. Your solicitor or conveyancer reads the contract and disclosure documents, adds the conditions you need, orders searches and handles settlement. With no agent managing the paperwork, their role matters more, not less.
Does a private seller have to give me a disclosure statement?
Yes. Since 1 August 2025, Queensland sellers must give buyers a completed disclosure statement (form 2) and the prescribed certificates before the buyer signs, with or without an agent. If you don’t get them, or they are materially wrong, you may be able to end the contract up to settlement. A few sales are exempt, such as sales between related parties.
Is buying privately cheaper than buying through an agent?
Not necessarily. The seller saves an agent’s commission, but owners still aim for market value, and you take on work an agent would otherwise do, such as gathering sales evidence. Get an independent valuation, compare the asking prices of similar homes, and base your offer on those, not on the commission the owner is saving.