Land buyers have been left in “distress and financial strain” after the Sunshine Coast Council halted a major development for lacking the right approvals but the developer says it has done nothing wrong.
One of Australia’s largest developers, AVID Property Group, has been expanding its Harmony estate in Palmview.
The estate is already home to 7500 residents on 2500 existing lots and land has been selling in two more stages of the project.
The council issued a stop-work order on construction of new lots in May, claiming the developer did not have appropriate approvals to sell land contracts.
The council claimed buyers had entered contracts with the expectation that completion dates were achievable.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli accused AVID of being aware it did not have the necessary development entitlements to sell the lots, leading to delays and additional costs to buyers.
Ms Natoli wrote, in a letter to AVID chief executive Cameron Holt, that land purchasers reported it was difficult to obtain reliable timelines from the developer about building new homes in the estate.
“These issues have caused significant distress and financial strain due to repeated deferrals of completion dates by AVID,” she said.
Ms Natoli also expressed concerns over delays in finalising the infrastructure agreement which would grant entitlements to the lots.
She also criticised the developer for making slow progress on delivering necessary sewerage infrastructure, and called on AVID to fast-track implementation of the system so that approvals could be granted.
An AVID spokesperson confirmed there had been “challenges” in gaining infrastructure approvals that led to a delayed completion date of March 2025, pending the council’s decision.
The company was adamant selling the lots was above board.
“AVID is fully compliant with the Land Sales Act which anticipates the selling of lots without approvals and requires a disclosure statement in those terms,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said contracts disclosed that development approvals were yet to be obtained and allowed buyers to terminate with a deposit refund if the approvals were not granted within 12 months.
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“AVID has committed not to invoke the sunset clause in the buyer contracts,” the spokesperson said.
“Of course, should any buyer no longer wish to proceed, we will work with them to exit the contract and enable their purchase elsewhere.”
Ms Natoli requested AVID stop entering into new contracts with potential land buyers until the necessary development entitlements were given to prevent further impacts on purchasers.
The AVID spokesperson said it was working with the council to secure final approval and had paused land releases until it was resolved.
The developer said that once final approval was received, buyers could settle their land and start construction of their new homes.
