The Contract of Sale in QLD: What Each Part of the REIQ Contract Means for Buyers
The contract of sale in QLD is usually the REIQ/QLS standard contract, which since 1 August 2025 has been the Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Residential Real Estate (1st edition).[1] It is two parts: a reference schedule with the details of your purchase (price, deposit, dates and conditions), and standard terms that set the rules both sides must follow.[2]
This guide goes through the contract the way a buyer meets it: what each part of the schedule means, how the deposit, finance and building and pest dates work, what special conditions can change, and what happens at settlement. It explains the standard form; your contract may differ, so have your solicitor or conveyancer read the one you are offered before you sign.
Key takeaways
- The schedule holds your deal; the standard terms hold the rules. Special conditions can change both.
- A finance or building and pest condition applies only if its date (and, for finance, the amount and lender) is filled in.
- Give notice on each condition by 5pm on its date, or the seller can end the contract.
- Time is of the essence: a late deposit or a missed settlement can put you in default and cost you the deposit.
- The property is at your risk from 5pm on the first business day after the contract date, so insure it from then.
What the Queensland contract of sale is
The Queensland Law Society describes the REIQ/QLS property contracts as the most common form of sale contract used in Queensland, with terms settled by the REIQ and the Law Society.[1] The current residential contract replaced two older forms, the Contract for Houses and Residential Land (19th edition) and the Contract for Residential Lots in a Community Titles Scheme (15th edition), so one contract now covers houses, land, units and townhouses.[3] It was written for the seller disclosure scheme in the Property Law Act 2023, which started on 1 August 2025.[3]
A few rules apply before the contract’s own terms do:
- Disclosure comes first. The seller must give you a disclosure statement (form 2) and the prescribed certificates before you sign.[4]
- The contract binds you when both of you have signed. Take a copy to your solicitor before you sign, and do not be pressured into signing without legal advice.[5]
- A warning statement sits above your signature. The seller must put it immediately above where you sign, and it tells you the contract may be subject to a 5 business day statutory cooling-off period with a termination penalty of 0.25% of the price.[6] Our guide to the cooling-off period in QLD explains how that works.
If no contract date is written in, the contract date is the day the last party signs.[2] That date matters, because the deposit, the conditions, the risk and often the settlement date all count from it.
The reference schedule, item by item
The first pages of the contract are the reference schedule. This is where your purchase is written down, and where most buyer mistakes are made. The table lists the main items in the standard form and what to check in each.[2]
| Item | What it says | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Parties and solicitors | The seller, the buyer, the agent and each side’s solicitor | Your name exactly as it will go on the title, and your solicitor’s details |
| Property | Address, lot and plan, present use | The lot and plan match the title search in the disclosure documents |
| Excluded fixtures and included chattels | What stays and what goes | Anything you expect to keep that is not fixed, such as a pool cleaner or freestanding fridge, is listed as included |
| Title encumbrances and tenancies | Easements, covenants and any lease you take over | Each one is explained to you by your solicitor |
| Price and deposit | The price, the initial and any balance deposit, and who holds it | The deposit amounts and the time each is due |
| Settlement date | A date, or a number of days from the contract date | It suits your lender and your move, and you know it can change |
| Finance | Finance amount, financier and finance date | All three are filled in if you need the condition |
| Building and pest inspection | Inspection date | It is filled in if you want the condition, with time to book an inspector |
| Pool safety, smoke alarms, land tax and GST | The seller’s statements on each | Your solicitor reads them with you |
| Special conditions | Extra terms added for this sale | Every one, word by word |
Check the inclusions line by line. Under the standard terms, improvements include items fixed to the structures, such as stoves, hot water systems, fixed carpets, curtains, blinds and fixed antennae, unless they are listed as excluded fixtures. Chattels that are not fixed stay with the seller unless they are listed as included.[2]
You must pay the deposit to the deposit holder named in the schedule at the times shown in the reference schedule. If no other time is written in, the initial deposit is due on the day you sign. Not paying it on time puts you in default.[2] The Queensland Government says you will normally need to pay within 2 to 3 days of the contract becoming binding.[5]
Watch weekends and public holidays. Under the standard terms, a settlement, finance or inspection date that falls on a non-business day moves to the next business day, but a deposit payment does not.[2] If your balance deposit is due on a Saturday, pay it by Saturday. The standard terms do protect a buyer who pays electronically on the due day and sends the deposit holder written evidence, even if the money lands later because of circumstances outside the buyer’s control.[2]
If the contract settles, the deposit goes to the seller as part of the price. If it ends without default by you, for example under a finance or building and pest condition, you are entitled to it back. If it ends because you defaulted, the seller is entitled to it, and can also resume possession, sue for damages and resell the property.[2]
In the standard contract these are the two main conditions, and each works the same way. You must take all reasonable steps to satisfy it, then give the seller notice by 5pm on its date either that it is satisfied or waived, or that it is not and you are ending the contract.[2]
- Finance. The contract is subject to finance only if the finance amount, the financier and the finance date are all filled in. The condition is getting loan approval on terms satisfactory to you.[2]
- Building and pest. The contract is subject to an inspection only if the inspection date is filled in. The condition is getting written building and pest reports on terms satisfactory to you. If you end the contract under it, you must act reasonably, and you must give the seller a copy of the reports if they ask.[2] Our guide to building and pest inspections in Queensland covers what the reports should include.
Missing the deadline is the expensive mistake. If you have not given notice by 5pm on the finance date or the inspection date, the seller may end the contract.[2] You keep the right to give your notice until the seller does, but you have lost control of the timing. For the contract’s dates, 27 to 31 December are not business days, which changes the count over Christmas.[2]
Conditions protect you only if they are written into the contract when you sign it, and checking that is your responsibility.[5] At auction the terms of sale usually require an unconditional bid,[7] which is why the checks come before you bid; see our guide to buying at auction in Brisbane, and our guide to vendor bids at auction for one of the auction rules buyers find hardest to read.
Special conditions are extra terms written in for one sale. The Queensland Law Society advises its members that changes to the standard terms should only be made by adding special conditions,[1] so this is where anything unusual will be.
Some help buyers, such as a condition that the sale depends on you selling your current home. Our post on upgrading with a subject-to-sale offer explains how that one works. Others help the seller: a shorter time to satisfy a condition, a release of the deposit before settlement, an early or late settlement, or a clause that the property is sold as it stands. Read every special condition with your solicitor, and ask what changes if it is removed.
The standard terms include warranties from the seller as at the contract date, for example that there is no outstanding enforcement notice or show cause notice under the building or planning laws affecting the property, and no current or threatened claims that could lead to a court order over it.[2] Under the 1st edition, several of these warranties do not apply to anything the seller disclosed before you signed, whether in the contract, the seller disclosure statement or otherwise in writing.[2][3]
That makes the disclosure documents part of what you are agreeing to. If the seller did not give them before you signed, or they are inaccurate or incomplete on a material issue you did not know about, you may be able to end the contract at any time up to settlement.[4] The flip side is that a problem disclosed before you signed generally cannot be relied on later as a breach of those warranties, so read the disclosure statement and certificates as carefully as the contract.
Settlement must happen by 4pm on the settlement date, usually electronically.[2] The schedule warns that the settlement date as written may change, and the standard terms allow it:
- either party can extend settlement by notice, given up to 4pm on the settlement date, to a new date no later than 5 business days after the scheduled date
- if an electronic settlement is unsigned between 3pm and 4pm because of a change made by another party, and is not re-signed by 4pm, settlement moves automatically to the next business day, once per contract.[2][3]
Outside those extensions, time is of the essence: a party who is not ready on the day can be in default.[2] If you need to settle on a particular date, raise it with your solicitor before you sign.
Two more terms matter between contract and keys. The property is at your risk from 5pm on the first business day after the contract date, so arrange building insurance from then. And after reasonable notice, you may enter the property for your inspections, once for a valuation, once to read meters, once to check the smoke alarms and once to inspect before settlement.[2] The seller must install compliant smoke alarms by settlement; if they do not, your only remedy is an adjustment of 0.15% of the price, and only if you claim it in writing on or before settlement.[2]
IPS works only for buyers, never sellers. We negotiate the price and the terms, and work with your broker, building and pest inspector and solicitor through to settlement. See our buyer’s agent services for how that works.
On the contract, that means we negotiate the items in the schedule that are open to negotiation, such as the deposit, the condition dates, the settlement date and the inclusions, before it reaches you to sign. We make sure your solicitor has the contract and the disclosure documents straight away, and we track each date through to settlement. Terms can matter as much as price: in one Caboolture purchase, a tight conditional contract and a fast settlement helped our client secure a unit for $517,500 although the selling agent had a competing $525,000 offer. Your solicitor gives the legal advice; we make sure the deal you sign is the one you meant to agree to.
- You have the seller disclosure statement and certificates, and your solicitor has read them.
- Your name, the property and the price are right, and the inclusions list everything you expect to keep.
- The deposit amounts and times suit you, and you know a deposit due on a weekend is still due that day.
- The finance amount, financier and finance date are filled in if you need finance, and the inspection date if you want a building and pest report.
- Every special condition has been explained, and the settlement date works for you and your lender.
- Your insurance will start from 5pm on the first business day after the contract date.
Before you sign anything, check the full cost too: our list of the costs of buying a house in QLD covers transfer duty and fees, and our guide to buying a house in QLD shows where the contract fits in the 12 steps.
This article is general information only, current at October 2026. It describes the standard REIQ/QLS form, not your contract, and is not legal advice. Have your solicitor or conveyancer review the contract and its special conditions before you sign.
If you would like help negotiating the contract terms and keeping every date on track, book a time with Tim Allen.
- Queensland Law Society — REIQ property contracts (release information to 1 October 2026)
- REIQ/QLS — Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Residential Real Estate, First Edition (copy published by Redland City Council)
- QLS Proctor — Advance copies of REIQ contracts ready (1 July 2025)
- Queensland Government — Seller disclosure scheme
- Queensland Government — Contract of sale for buying a home (updated 23 July 2025)
- Queensland Legislation — Property Occupations Act 2014, part 7 (reprint current from 1 August 2025)
- Queensland Government — Buying property at auction
Who prepares the contract of sale in Queensland?
In most private sales the seller’s agent provides the contract, usually the REIQ/QLS standard form, and you can make your offer by filling it in. The seller must give you the disclosure statement and certificates before you sign. Have your solicitor or conveyancer read the contract and the special conditions first, and ask them to propose any changes you need.
Can I change the REIQ contract before I sign it?
Yes. The schedule items, such as the price, deposit, finance and inspection dates, settlement date and inclusions, are all open to negotiation. Changes to the standard terms themselves are made by adding special conditions, which is what the Queensland Law Society advises its members. Anything you need, such as a subject-to-sale condition, must be written into the contract before you sign.
What is the contract date on a Queensland contract?
It is the date written in the reference schedule as the contract date. If none is written in, it is the day the last party signs. The date matters because deposit deadlines, the finance and inspection dates, and the point from which the property is at your risk all count from it, and settlement is often set as a number of days after it.
What happens if I miss the finance date?
Under the standard contract you must tell the seller by 5pm on the finance date that finance is approved, waived, or not approved and you are ending the contract. If you have not, the seller may end the contract. You can still give your notice until the seller does, but call your solicitor straight away rather than relying on that.
Who holds the deposit when I buy a house in Queensland?
The deposit holder named in the reference schedule holds it until one party becomes entitled to it. If either party instructs it and it is lawful, the deposit holder must invest the deposit in an interest-bearing account, and the interest follows the deposit. If the contract settles, the deposit goes to the seller as part of the price.
Is the REIQ contract the same for houses and units?
Since 1 August 2025 one residential contract covers houses and land, lots in a community titles scheme such as units and townhouses, and building units and group titles lots. Units and townhouses have extra body corporate terms, including seller warranties about the body corporate and an optional condition for inspecting the body corporate records.