Special conditions sit at the back of a Victorian contract of sale, after the standard printed terms, and they override those terms wherever the two conflict. Most buyers read the price on page one, then skip straight to signing without reading the pages that can quietly change what that price actually buys them.
Page 12 of the contract had a special condition letting the vendor push settlement back 30 days. The buyer never got past the price on page 1. That single clause, agreed to without being read, put the buyer's own settlement plans (the removalist booked, the lease notice given on their existing rental) suddenly at the mercy of someone else's timeline.
Buying or selling? Have the special conditions reviewed while there's still time to negotiate them, not at settlement, when there's nothing left to change.
Book a Free Consultation →Where Do Special Conditions Sit in the Contract?
Every Victorian contract of sale is built on a standard set of printed terms. The special conditions attached to the back of the contract are where the deal is actually customised, and they override the standard terms wherever the two conflict. Agents and vendors' solicitors add them for entirely legitimate reasons: to reflect a genuine agreement between the parties, to deal with something specific about the property, or to protect the vendor's position on a particular point. The problem is not that special conditions exist. The problem is that they are routinely signed without being read in full.
What Can Special Conditions Quietly Change?
A handful of clause types account for most of the disputes that follow:
- Finance deadlines: extending or shortening the window a buyer has to secure finance approval.
- Building approval requirements: making the contract conditional (or not) on planning or building permits.
- Access arrangements: who can enter the property, and when, before settlement.
- Settlement extensions: giving one party the right to push settlement back, sometimes without penalty.
- Deposit release timing: when and how the deposit can be released to the vendor before settlement.
- Penalty rates for late settlement: the interest rate that applies if either side is late, which can be set well above or below the standard rate.
One badly worded clause in any of these categories changes the whole deal, even though the headline price on page one never moves.
How Phan Campbell & Associates Can Help
At Phan Campbell & Associates in Footscray, our conveyancing team reviews contracts of sale for buyers and sellers across Melbourne and Victoria before signature, with particular attention to the special conditions most buyers skip. Where a clause is unfavourable, we negotiate it while there is still leverage to do so, before the contract is signed and not after.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where do special conditions sit in a Victorian contract of sale?
Special conditions sit at the back of the contract of sale, after the standard printed terms, and they override those terms wherever the two conflict. Most buyers read the price on page one, then skip straight to signing.
2. What can special conditions quietly change?
Finance deadlines, building approval requirements, access arrangements, settlement extensions, deposit release timing, and penalty rates for late settlement can all be varied. One badly worded clause here changes the whole deal.
3. Can a vendor use a special condition to delay settlement?
Yes, if the buyer has agreed to it. A special condition can grant the vendor the right to extend settlement by a set number of days, a right they would not otherwise have under the standard printed terms.
4. When should special conditions be reviewed?
Before you sign, while there is still room to negotiate them. Once the contract is signed and settlement is approaching, an unfavourable special condition is very difficult to unwind.