Tasmanian councils say a "simple fix" would better protect home buyers in the state and give them a level of protection that exists in all other states and the ACT.
The Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) has been lobbying the state government since 2016 to make a land information certificate, also known as a 337 certificate, mandatory for all sellers to disclose when they list their property for sale.
The certificate comes from the relevant council, and lists whether that council has records of abatement notices served, any licences, permits, rectification notices, or planning issues relating to a property.
It also lists whether the property is located in a declared landslip area, and any records of building and plumbing work applied for and carried out.
"In Tasmania, it's purely up to the purchaser as to whether they request a 337 certificate or not, as opposed to other mainland states where the onus is on the vendor to disclose any issues associated with the property prior to listing," LGAT chief executive Dion Lester said.
Labor said it would change the law if it wins government to make the disclosure mandatory at the time a property is listed for sale.
Labor's consumer affairs spokeswoman Jen Butler said transparency was "crucial" for home buyers.
"However, many Tasmanians are purchasing properties only to find out their homes have major [defects] not disclosed in the listing," she said.
"This is costing families hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Two 'key issues' with the 337 approach
As it stands now in Tasmania, it's up to the buyer — or their conveyancer — to request a 337 certificate, and that can only be done once a contract has been entered into between the buyer and seller.
Mr Lester said there were two "key issues" with this approach in Tasmania.
"What we're seeing is potential property purchasers from the mainland are coming down here and not asking for a 337 certificate and some of them are then finding they've purchased properties with significant issues associated with them," he said.
"I think it's a major issue for people from the mainland because the expectation is that this information would be provided as part of the pre-purchase information.
"The second issue with 337s is that when they are asked for, it occurs post the contract being signed, so it means it then becomes something that occurs between contract signing and settlement, which can cause conflict between vendors and purchasers if an issue does arise."
Mr Lester said when problems arose because issues with properties weren't disclosed, while not widespread, they had a "very significant impact" on buyers.
"Certainly with increasing interest in the Tasmanian property market by mainland buyers, we're seeing the issues increasing in their severity."
Mr Lester said councils were also "copping abuse" from buyers who find out too late if they've bought a property that either "has significant issues associated with it, or has got aspects that have been built illegally".
He said when a 337 was asked for, it must be provided by the relevant council.
'Do your due diligence'
Mr Lester said LGAT had raised the issue "numerous times" with the government, but minister Madeleine Ogilvie, who took questions from the media on Wednesday, said she was "not aware there's a dialogue already about that within our ranks".
"I do know from a consumer perspective that we have a body of law in place that protects consumers when they're purchasing houses, but of course, a key thing is to do your due diligence," she said.
"If something's gone wrong and it hasn't been disclosed as it should have been according to the law, you would have some recourse to that.
"It's a matter for the Attorney-General as the Consumer Affairs Minister, but I would think that if there's a need to do more, we could do more.
"My experience even buying and selling houses is that the current situation has been working, but that's not to say it shouldn't reflect changes in the market."
Previous attempts to bring in mandatory vendor disclosure have not been supported by the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania, which has cited unnecessary time and cost.
