The government have begun knocking on doors to acquire land for the huge Northern Road extension, and for other infrastructure projects associated with the construction of the Badgery’s Creek Airport.
We have been involved in a number of transactions stemming from the controversial project, including acting for long term tenants who were forced to leave the land they had rented for multiple decades to make way for construction and demolition, and acquisitions of small and large parcels of land from long-term land owners.
Typically the process works like this:
- You will be contacted by someone on behalf of the government or Roads & Maritime Services indicating that they wish to sit down and talk to you about acquiring some or all of your land.
- You will be issued with a Proposed Acquisition Notice (PAN) which is the first formal step in the compulsory acquisition process.
- Your PAN will contain information about the price they wish to offer you for your property and any other conditions that are attached to the acquisition.
- You will then have an opportunity to accept the government’s offer, or to raise any concerns or objections you might have in relation to the value of your land or the terms of the acquisition.
The transaction will then go one of two ways:
- Once agreement is reached, the Solicitors acting for the government or entity acquiring your land will prepare a Contract to document the agreement. This Contract will set out the terms of the deal, together with any subdivision that may be necessary if the purchasing entity is only purchasing a portion of your land.
- If agreement cannot be reached, the government or entity proposing to acquire your property may take compulsory acquisition action. This may include court action if no agreement can be reached.
Naturally it is better for all parties involved if agreement can be reached and a deal struck that appropriately reflects the value of your property. In assessing the value of your property multiple factors are taken into account including loss of use (if any), the effect that the acquisition will have on the rest of your property, whether or not the acquisition will affect any dwelling on the property, and a range of other factors.
