Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Real Estate eleventh edition

The eleventh edition of the REINZ and Auckland District Law Society’s Agreement for the Sale and Purchase of Real Estate (ASPRE) was released on 8 February. Joyce Chiu, In-house Counsel and Advisory Services at REINZ, explains some of the changes — and what brought them about.

Over the last 13 months, whilst the tenth edition, version two, of the ASPRE was in circulation, REINZ gathered feedback from members and industry leaders on what was working and what wasn’t. The eleventh edition addresses these issues, and we have received positive feedback from our members since its release.

Additional space provided in the new format will benefit members, allowing for negotiations and longer legal descriptions. We are grateful for the input of REINZ’s Industry Leaders Group which provided helpful feedback before the reformatting was finalised.

What’s changed?

The changes from the tenth edition, version two, to the eleventh edition of the ASPRE are significant. First and foremost, the document layout has been reformatted in several areas, including the front page, signatory page and back page.

The latest edition includes provisions for the discontinuance of bank cheques — taking into consideration that many major financial institutions and banks no longer accept bank cheques.

There are also changes under the Purchase Price Allocation Rules. The eleventh edition includes new provisions to address the optional addendum concerning legislative changes to tax purchase price allocation rules, clarifications made to clauses 10 when claiming compensation, maintenance of the status quo in limiting liability (in light of the Trusts Act 2019), and further changes to the warning and signatory pages.

Members will have also seen that the COVID-19 Provision released last year as an optional further term on eForms has been incorporated into this edition.

The Auction and Tender Agreements

With the release of the ASPRE eleventh edition, REINZ and the ADLS ASPRE Sub-Committee are now working to amend the Auction Agreement and Tender Agreement to align with the eleventh edition — we will keep our members updated on progress.

Members who would like a comprehensive run down on changes to the eleventh edition of the ASPRE, including legal implications, and the discussions that led to these changes, can watch the free REINZ webinar available via the REINZ Education Portal.

Joyce Chiu

In-house Counsel & Advisory Services, REINZ