Wood v Rockwall No 3 Pty Limited

The parties to this dispute were Wood, the purchaser of a leasehold interest in a strata lot, and Rockwall No 3, the vendor. The dispute related to a contract for sale of a leasehold interest under a 99-year lease of a strata lot. The contract contained a covenant requiring the vendor to procure the Owners Corporation, as lessee of the common property, to undertake remedial works required under its lease. The covenant was intended to run with the leasehold interest. The purchaser sought to delay completion of the sale until the works were completed. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue for the court to determine was whether the purchaser could lawfully delay completion of the sale until the remedial works were completed. The court needed to consider whether the covenant in question was a condition precedent to completion, and if so, whether it could be waived or if it entitled the purchaser to terminate the contract. The court also needed to consider the nature and purpose of the covenant, and whether it was intended to be a personal covenant of the vendor or a covenant running with the land.

The court held that the covenant was a condition precedent to completion, and that it could not be waived or treated as a mere personal covenant of the vendor. The covenant was intended to protect the purchaser's interest in the property, and it was not merely a matter of convenience or preference. The court noted that the covenant was intended to ensure that the Owners Corporation, as lessee of the common property, would undertake the necessary remedial works, and that this was in the interests of all lot owners. The court held that the purchaser was entitled to delay completion until the works were completed, and that the vendor could not compel completion before the works were finished. The court further held that the covenant ran with the leasehold interest, and that any subsequent purchaser would be bound by it.

The court ordered that the sale could not be completed until the remedial works were completed, and that the vendor was not entitled to compel completion before the works were finished. The court also ordered that the covenant in question ran with the leasehold interest, and that any subsequent purchaser would be bound by it. The court further ordered that the parties bear their own costs of the proceeding.