An agent repeats the vendor's claim that an extension was council-approved. It was not. The agent had seen council letters questioning the approval but did not follow them up. Can the agent rely on the s 52 defence?
Correct Answer
D) No; the defence needs no knowledge and no reasonable cause to suspect.
Section 52 of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 prohibits inducing a contract by a false or misleading statement, whether or not the agent knew it was false. Under s 52(3) it is a defence only if the agent proves they did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect it was false. Council letters questioning the approval gave reasonable cause to suspect.
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An agent tells an elderly owner she must sign an agency agreement tonight or lose every buyer, then phones her repeatedly after 10 pm when she hesitates. Which Schedule 1 rule is most clearly breached?