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Real Estate Agents Act 2008

Duties relating to real estate agency work - Agency agreements

130: Client may cancel sole agency agreement by 5 pm next working day

You could also call this:

"You can cancel a sole agency agreement within one working day"

Illustration for Real Estate Agents Act 2008

You can cancel a sole agency agreement with an agent by 5 pm on the next working day. You must give the agent written notice to cancel the agreement, which you can do by fax or email. The agent cannot stop you from cancelling the agreement, even if it says something different in the agreement. You can still cancel the agreement even if the agent has already done some work. But if the agent did work that helped sell the property before you cancelled, they can still use the agreement. This means the agent can get paid for the work they did before you cancelled the agreement, if that work helped sell the property, as explained in section 126(1)(c). If you want to cancel the agreement, you need to do it by the deadline, which is 5 pm on the next working day after you got a copy of the agreement.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1152123.

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Housing and property > Buying and selling homesMoney and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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129: Regulations may make provisions in respect of agency agreements, or

"Rules about agreements between real estate agents and their clients"

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131: Parties may cancel sole agency agreements in respect of residential property 90 days after agreement is signed, or

"You can cancel a house sale agreement 90 days after signing it."

Part 5Duties relating to real estate agency work
Agency agreements

130Client may cancel sole agency agreement by 5 pm next working day

  1. A client who is party to a sole agency agreement with an agent may, by 5 pm on the first working day after the day on which a copy of the agreement is given to the client under section 126(1)(c), cancel the agreement by written notice to the agent.

  2. A notice under subsection (1) may be served by fax or email.

  3. Subsection (1) has effect despite any provision to the contrary in any agreement.

  4. Even though a sole agency agreement has been cancelled, an agent may rely on that agreement if, before that cancellation,—

  5. the agent carries out any agency work in accordance with the agreement; and
    1. that agency work enables the conclusion of a contract that effects a transaction to which the agreement relates.