3.—(1) Under a contract to grant or assign a term of years, whether derived or to be derived out of a freehold or leasehold estate, the intended lessee or assign shall not be entitled to call for the title to the freehold.| Lessee or assign not to call for title to leasehold reversion |
| (2) Under a contract to sell and assign a term of years derived out of a leasehold estate, the intended assign shall not have the right to call for the title to the leasehold reversion. |
| Recitals, etc., in deeds, Acts, etc., 12 years old to be sufficient evidence |
| (3) Recitals, statements and descriptions of facts, matters and parties contained in deeds, instruments, Acts or statutory declarations 12 years old at the date of the contract shall, unless and except so far as they are proved to be inaccurate, be taken to be sufficient evidence of the truth of those facts, matters and descriptions. |
| Period of limitation for title to be deduced |
| (4) A purchaser of land shall not be entitled to require a title to be deduced for a period of more than 15 years or for a period extending further back than a grant or lease by the Crown or the State, whichever period is the shorter. |
| Limitation upon production of deeds, etc. Assumption as to recitals, etc. |
| (5) A purchaser of any property shall not be entitled to require the production, or any abstract or copy, of any deed, will, or other document, dated or made before the time prescribed by law, or expressly stipulated, for commencement of the title, even though the same creates a power subsequently exercised by an instrument abstracted in the abstract furnished to the purchaser; nor shall he require any information, or make any requisition, objection or inquiry, with respect to any such deed, will or document, or the title prior to that time, notwithstanding that any such deed, will or other document, or that prior title, is recited, covenanted to be produced, or noticed; and he shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that the recitals contained in the abstracted instruments of any deed, will or other document, forming part of that prior title, are correct, and give all the material contents of the deed, will or other documents so recited, and that every document so recited was duly executed by all necessary parties and perfected, if and as required, by acknowledgment, enrolment or otherwise. |
| Assumption as to land sold when held by lease; and upon production of receipt |
| (6) Where land sold is held by lease (not including under-lease), the purchaser shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that the lease was duly granted; and, on production of the receipt for the last payment due for rent under the lease before the date of actual completion of the purchase, he shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that all the covenants and provisions of the lease have been duly performed and observed up to the date of the actual completion of the purchase. |
| Assumption as to land sold when held by under-lease; and upon production of receipt |
| (7) Where land sold is held by under-lease, the purchaser shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that the under-lease and every superior lease were duly granted; and, on production of the receipt for the last payment due for rent under the under‑lease before the date of actual completion of the purchase, he shall assume, unless the contrary appears, that all the covenants and provisions of the under-lease have been duly performed and observed up to the date of actual completion of the purchase, and further that all rent due under every superior lease, and all the covenants and provisions of every superior lease, have been paid and duly performed and observed up to that date. |
| Expenses of production, journeys incidental thereto, and searches to be borne by purchaser requiring them |
| (8) On a sale of any property, the expenses of the production and inspection of all records, proceedings of courts, deeds, wills, probates, letters of administration and other documents, not in the vendor’s possession, and the expenses of all journeys incidental to the production and inspection, and the expenses of searching for, procuring, making, verifying and producing all certificates, declarations, evidences and information not in the vendor’s possession, and all attested, stamped, office or other copies or abstracts of, or extracts from, any such documents as aforesaid, not in the vendor’s possession, if any such production, inspection, journey, search, procuring, making or verifying is required by a purchaser, either for verification of the abstract, or for any other purpose, shall be borne by the purchaser who requires them; and where the vendor retains possession of any document, the expenses of making any copy thereof, attested or unattested, which a purchaser requires to be delivered to him, shall be borne by that purchaser. |
| Right to abstract on sale by lots |
| (9) On a sale of any property in lots, a purchaser of 2 or more lots, held wholly or partly under the same title, shall not have a right to more than one abstract of the common title, except at his own expense. |
| When inability to furnish with covenant to produce shall not be an objection |
| (10) The inability of a vendor of any property to furnish the purchaser with a legal covenant to produce and furnish documents of title shall not be an objection to title in case the purchaser will, on the completion of the contract, have an equitable right to the production of those documents. |
| Covenants for production to be at purchaser’s expense |
| (11) Such covenants for production as the purchaser on any sale of property can and shall require shall be furnished at his expense, and the vendor shall bear the expense of perusal and execution on behalf of and by himself and on behalf of and by necessary parties other than the purchaser. |
| Vendor’s right to retain documents |
| (12) Where the vendor on any sale of property retains any part of an estate to which any documents of title relate, he shall be entitled to retain those documents. |
| Implied stipulation as to fire insurance |
| (13) On a sale of property a stipulation shall be implied that the purchaser shall be entitled to the benefit of any insurance against fire which may be then subsisting thereon in favour of the vendor. |
| (14) This section shall apply only to titles and purchasers on sales properly so called, notwithstanding any interpretation in this Act. |
| (15) This section shall apply only if and so far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the contract of sale, and shall have effect subject to the terms of the contract, and to the provisions therein contained. |
| Where section not to bind purchaser to complete |
| (16) Nothing in this section shall be construed as binding a purchaser to complete his purchase in any case where, on a contract made independently of this section, and containing stipulations similar to this section, or any of them, specific performance of the contract would not be enforced against him by the court. |
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