Selling your own home in Queensland.

Queensland rewrote its property law in 2025. The biggest change for sellers is the seller disclosure scheme: before a buyer signs, you must give them a signed statement about the property and the certificates that back it up. Miss it and the buyer can walk away right up to settlement. It sounds like a reason to hire an agent. It is really a reason to hire a good solicitor early, and it costs a fraction of the $25,200 an agent would charge at 2.1% on a $1,200,000 home.

01 · Is it legal?

Can you sell your own house in Queensland?

Yes. The Queensland Government publishes guidance for owners selling privately, and the seller disclosure scheme applies to every seller, with or without an agent. The obligations sit with you, the owner. An agent, if you use one, simply acts on your behalf.

The Queensland Government’s advice is to always get a solicitor to check a sale contract. In a private sale, that same solicitor usually prepares the disclosure documents and the contract and handles settlement. Your job is the rest: pricing, photos, the listing, enquiries, inspections and negotiating.

02 · Seller disclosure

What is the Queensland seller disclosure statement?

Section 99 of the Property Law Act 2023 commenced on 1 August 2025. It says that before a buyer signs a contract to buy a lot, the seller must give the buyer a disclosure statement and every prescribed certificate that applies. The statement must be in the approved form (Form 2, the Seller disclosure statement), include the prescribed information, be true at the time it is given, and be signed by the seller. It can be electronic and signed electronically.

The statement covers things like title encumbrances, zoning, transport and resumption notices, contaminated land, heritage listing and whether there is a pool. If you sell at auction, the documents must be given or made available before the fall of the hammer.

The prescribed certificates

The Property Law Regulation 2024 lists them. The ones most house and unit sellers will meet:

• A title search for the lot
• A copy of the registered plan of survey
• Any building, planning or environmental notice, or council order, still in effect against the property
• If there is a pool: a pool compliance certificate (such as a pool safety certificate) or a notice that there is no pool safety certificate
• For a unit or townhouse in a community titles scheme: the community management statement and a body corporate certificate

What happens if you get it wrong

If you do not give the documents before the buyer signs, or you give documents that are inaccurate or incomplete on a material matter the buyer did not know about and would not have signed with, the buyer can terminate the contract at any time before settlement. You cannot contract out of the scheme. A few sales are exempt, for example sales between related parties where the buyer waives it, or sales over $10 million where the buyer waives it. A normal home sale is not exempt. Order the searches before you list, because a unit’s body corporate certificate can take a week or more.

03 · The contract

Who prepares the contract in Queensland?

Your solicitor. Most Queensland home sales use the standard REIQ residential contract. The current edition, the Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Residential Real Estate (First Edition, 08/25), was updated for the new law and is approved by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland and the Queensland Law Society. It records the deposit, the deposit holder and the deposit holder’s trust account, and has a box confirming the seller disclosure statement was given.

The deposit is normally 10% of the price, paid into the deposit holder’s trust account. In a private sale the deposit holder is usually your solicitor, so the money sits in their trust account until settlement. You do not hold it yourself. For more detail, read who prepares the contract when you sell privately in Queensland.

What it costs

Expect to pay a solicitor for the disclosure statement and searches as well as for the sale conveyancing, and the search fees on top. Ask for one fixed quote that covers Form 2, the prescribed certificates, the contract and settlement.

04 · Cooling-off

How does the cooling-off period work in Queensland?

Residential sale contracts in Queensland carry a statutory cooling-off period of 5 business days. It starts on the day the buyer receives a copy of the contract signed by both parties, and ends at 5pm on the fifth business day. The seller does not get one.

If the buyer terminates during cooling-off, you can deduct a termination penalty of up to 0.25% of the purchase price from the deposit, and you must refund the rest within 14 days. The contract must carry a prescribed warning statement about cooling-off, immediately above where the buyer signs. The REIQ form includes it.

A buyer can waive or shorten cooling-off by written notice. It does not apply to a sale at auction, or to a contract signed with a registered bidder by 5pm on the second business day after the property is passed in.

05 · Compliance

Pools, smoke alarms and the tax office.

Pool safety certificate

If the property has a pool, a pool compliance certificate, or a notice that there is no pool safety certificate, is now a prescribed certificate. That means it goes to the buyer with your disclosure statement, before they sign. A pool safety certificate lasts 2 years for a non-shared pool and 1 year for a shared pool.

If you cannot get a certificate, you lodge a Form 36 (notice of no pool safety certificate) with the QBCC and give the buyer a copy. The buyer then has 90 days after settlement to get the pool certified. A Form 36 is not an exemption. The barrier still has to comply while you own it.

Smoke alarms

Since 1 January 2022, Queensland’s upgraded smoke alarm rules apply to every home that is sold or leased. That means interconnected photoelectric alarms complying with Australian Standard 3786:2014, in every bedroom, in hallways that connect bedrooms to the rest of the home, and on every level. From 1 January 2027 the rule covers every home in the state, sold or not. If your alarms are hardwired, replacements must be hardwired too, so book a licensed electrician before you list.

Tax: three things to check

• ATO clearance certificate. Every Australian resident selling property needs one, whatever the price. Without it, the buyer must withhold up to 15% of the price. Apply as soon as you decide to sell.
• Capital gains tax. Your main residence is generally exempt. Renting it out, running a business from it, or land over 2 hectares can change that.
• Land tax. If the land is your home, a Queensland land tax exemption may apply. Investment properties are a different story.

This is general information, not tax advice. If the property is an investment, has been rented, or you have moved out, talk to your accountant before you list.

06 · Where we fit

What Unreserved does for Queensland sellers.

Unreserved is a licensed real estate agency, and our founder holds a Queensland licence (4939168). We do not replace your solicitor. Your solicitor prepares the Form 2, the certificates and the contract, and runs settlement. We do the part an agent charges commission for: the listing, the buyers and the price.

Every paid plan includes the AI Inspection Agent, a unified buyer inbox, contract and settlement support and a standard For Sale signboard. None charges commission and none has a lock-in contract.

07 · The cost

How much does it cost to sell a house in Queensland?

Agent commission in Australia runs from about 1.8 to 3.5% of the sale price. The table uses 2.1%, the conservative end, before GST and before any marketing package. Your solicitor’s fee for disclosure and conveyancing applies under every option, agent or not, so it is left out.

08 · The honest part

When an agent is the better call in Queensland.

Selling privately saves the most when the home is the kind buyers already search for and you can be there for inspections. Think twice if you cannot be reachable for a four to six week campaign, if the owners disagree about selling, or if the property is so unusual that a buyer has to be hunted rather than advertised to. In those cases, Plus puts a licensed agent on the sale for a flat fee. Or pay commission. That is a legitimate choice too.

Want to see how other owners present their homes? See live private listings.