Real estate agent complaints up 43% in 2023-24 The latest REA Annual Report reveals a sharp 41% increase in complaints, rising from 252 in 2023 to 361 in 2024. While factors like increased property transactions, eased lending conditions, and public willingness to report minor issues may have contributed, the rise appears to reflect broader trends rather than a decline in industry standards. Read more
Real Estate Agent complaint numbers fall again – Statistics for 2022-23 Every year, the Real Estate Authority publishes statistics about the industry in its Annual Report. Last year, we passed on the good news that complaints made about real estate agents were at an all-time low. The REA has just published its report on the year from July 2022 – June 2023. Read more
Basic rules about landslips Landslips aren’t a new phenomenon in New Zealand. But there have been catastrophic numbers of landslides in the past few weeks and they may become more common in the future. Here are some basic legal rules concerning landslips. Insurance law Christchurch. Read more
Personal liability of building inspectors There is currently a trend amongst plaintiffs to commence proceedings against building inspectors personally in defective building cases. This is only appropriate in very specific circumstances. A 'normal' situation, by way of example, is this: a purchaser wants to buy a house. They employ an inspector (a builder or specific pre-purchase inspection company) to look around the house and prepare a report. This is usually to satisfy the builders inspection condition in the standard-form sale and purchase agreement. The report says that the house is in good condition. The purchasers buy the house and discover that it leaks. Read more
Real estate agent complaints at an all-time low Every year, the Real Estate Authority publishes complaints data for the industry. The statistics from the July 2021 to June 2022 reporting year were released earlier this week and show that only 271 formal complaints were made to the REA last year. This is down from a high of 564 in 2015/16. Read more
Associate | Insurance We're hiring. This is an outstanding career opportunity for a dynamic litigator to join Wynn Williams’ insurance team. Read more
Assessing professional negligence Wynn Williams defends professional advisers accused of negligence in various fields, protecting clients from potential losses Read more
The ‘mere conduit’ defence – passing on vendor’s documents to purchasers Real estate agents often seek to add value, help purchasers, or try to maximise the good features of a property, but they need to be very careful when making absolute assurances to purchasers even when there are reports which support their position. A recent case shows that the mere conduit defence continues to be very useful when a claim is made. Read more
Undue influence – always more difficult to prove in commercial contexts Duress is making someone do something by threat or coercion. But there is an ancient line of cases concerning more subtle means of dishonestly taking advantage Read more
