How long from unconditional to settlement?

Where the date comes from

The settlement date sits in the agreement as a term, alongside the price and the conditions. It is usually written in before the agreement goes to the buyer, and the buyer can accept it, counter it, or make their offer conditional on a different date.

Going unconditional is a separate event. It is the moment the last condition is satisfied or waived. Depending on how long the buyer's conditions run, unconditional can land close to settlement or a long way before it.

What the two sides are balancing

Both parties need the gap to work for their own arrangements, and the date is usually a compromise between them.

• The buyer's bank. The loan has to be documented, signed and ready to draw down on the day.
• Your own next move. If you are buying, the two dates have to line up, or bridging has to cover the difference.
• Moving out. Vacant possession means the house is empty on settlement day, so the move has to fit inside the gap.
• Both lawyers. They need time to check the title, prepare the transfer, arrange the discharge of your mortgage and get the figures agreed.

The situations that force a longer gap

A tenanted property sold with a requirement to give vacant possession is the clearest one. Where the tenant is on a periodic tenancy, the landlord may give 42 days written notice once the agreement is unconditional, and the notice must state the reason. Without that trigger, the general no cause notice is 90 days. A fixed term tenancy cannot be ended early just because the property has sold, so the gap has to reach the end of the term or the sale has to be made with the tenancy in place.

A unit title, which is the form of ownership used for apartments and many townhouses, brings body corporate paperwork into the settlement, and that can take time to assemble.

What to do with this

Decide your preferred settlement date before the property goes on the market, and tell your lawyer what you need it to achieve. If it is being driven by a purchase, a tenancy or a job, say so early, because it is far easier to write a date into the agreement than to move it afterwards.