The COVID clause in the new ADLS Agreement for Sale and Purchase

• Published date: 14 May 2022
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Conveyancing, Government Measures
• Law Firm: Cavell Leitch
• Author: Ms Courtney McHugh

The New 11th Edition ADLS Agreement provides a COVID Clause which deals with settlements in the event that either the country, or the region in which the property is located, go into lockdown so that people are unable to move houses. This scenario is becoming less and less likely given the Government's new traffic light settings as even the red traffic light setting allows people to relocate anyway in NZ. The standard ADLS clause does not however deal with how settlements would progress in the event that the vendor or purchaser is either COVID positive or a household contact and is isolating.

We have sought guidance from the Property Law Section in relation to this issue, and their advice is that this situation would need to be dealt with on a case by case basis. The Government's current guidance...