Buying a house in Victoria: what to check before you sign

Before you sign a contract to buy a house in Victoria, read the section 32 vendor statement, check the zone and overlays in VicPlan, the flood and bushfire mapping, the title and the ground, and arrange a building and pest inspection and an insurance quote. The section 32 statement is required by law, but it names most of these things rather than testing them.

Check	What it tells you	Where to get it	Cost
Section 32 statement	Title, easements, zone and overlay names, outgoings, building permits, owners corporation certificate (units)	The seller, before you sign	Seller provides
Planning Property Report	Zone, overlay maps, bushfire prone area, heritage register	VicPlan	Free
Flood level certificate	Estimated 1% AEP flood level, in metres AHD	Melbourne Water, LANDATA, Dye & Durham	Fee ($57.47 at Melbourne Water, November 2026)
Building, pest and insurance	Defects, termites, condition, whether the address can be insured	A licensed inspector, an insurer	Varies
Ground and slope check	Reactive clay, fill, driveway grade	Desktop report, then site investigation	Varies

What does a Section 32 vendor statement have to include?

The seller must give you a signed section 32 statement before you sign the contract (Sale of Land Act 1962). Sections 32A to 32I require the title and plan, mortgages that will not be discharged, rates and other outgoings, and any easement or covenant. They also require a statement if the land is in a designated bushfire prone area, the zoning and the name of any overlay, and any notices or orders from public authorities. For a house it must list building permits issued in the last 7 years, and say if electricity, gas, water, sewerage or telephone is not connected. For a unit it must include the owners corporation certificate.

The statement names each overlay but does not map it or explain what it means for your plans. Sellers and agents must also make Consumer Affairs Victoria's due diligence checklist available once the home is offered for sale. It prompts you about flood, fire and planning but answers none of them.

What does VicPlan's Planning Property Report show?

VicPlan is the Victorian Government's online planning map, and its Planning Property Report is a free PDF for any address you search. It includes a zone map, a map for each overlay, whether the property is on the Victorian Heritage Register and whether it is in a designated bushfire prone area. It is not a Planning Certificate (section 199 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987), which you order through Landata. See our VicPlan guide.

LayeredGeo's Property Report is a $9 PDF that puts the zoning, flood, bushfire and heritage overlays and easements for one Victorian address in one document, and a free map preview at pop in your address shows what is mapped before you pay. It is not a planning certificate, a title search or a building inspection.

How do I check if a property floods in Melbourne?

Check the flood overlays in VicPlan, then get a Melbourne Water flood level certificate if an overlay applies. Melbourne Water describes four flood controls, all based on a flood with a 1% chance of occurring in any year:

• Land Subject to Inundation Overlay: land typically affected by flooding from waterways and coastal areas.
• Special Building Overlay: areas prone to stormwater or overland flooding when drains are overwhelmed.
• Floodway Overlay: land carrying active flood flows, and high hazard areas.
• Urban Floodway Zone: a zone where flood risk is typically high and development is generally not encouraged.

The certificate states the flood level for a 1% annual exceedance probability (AEP) flood, meaning a 1% chance in any year, in metres above sea level (AHD). Melbourne Water charges a fee ($57.47 when checked in November 2026), and the certificate takes up to 14 days and is valid for three months. Melbourne Water says a property with a flooding overlay needs flood information in the vendor statement, so check whether the section 32 includes one. It also says Melbourne will always experience some flooding, so a missing overlay does not mean dry. See seven flood overlay mistakes Victorian buyers make.

LayeredGeo's Flood Model Report is a $9 PDF that lists every published flood model reaching one address, with the modelled depth, velocity and flood level for each event, but only where a published flood model covers the address (parts of Victoria and four other states and territories). It is not a Melbourne Water certificate.

How do I check bushfire and heritage controls?

A designated bushfire prone area means a new house must meet a bushfire attack level (BAL) construction standard. The Bushfire Management Overlay is stricter: a planning control for land with very high and extreme hazard that requires a planning permit and measures such as defendable space, water supply and access. See the bushfire prone area map in each state. A Heritage Overlay means a permit is typically needed to demolish or externally alter a building, build a new one or subdivide. See how to check a heritage listing before you buy.

What do the title and owners corporation certificate tell me?

The title and plan show who owns the land and every registered easement, a strip others have a right to use that can limit where you build. See what easements on title mean. For a unit, the owners corporation certificate lists fees, unpaid amounts, special levies, planned repairs, insurance and legal proceedings, and must be issued within 10 business days of a written request and fee.

Do I need a building and pest inspection and a conveyancer?

Yes, arrange both. A private sale can be conditional on a satisfactory building or pest inspection if the condition is written into the contract. Consumer Affairs Victoria suggests a lawyer or conveyancer to review the contract and section 32, and says to consider fire and flood risk for insurance premiums, so get a quote for the address before you sign.

What should I know about the ground before I buy?

Reactive clay is common across Melbourne, especially on the basalt plains to the north and west. It shrinks as it dries and swells as it wets, and an Australian Geomechanics Society paper notes the basaltic clays found there can damage light structures. The site investigation decides the AS 2870 class. Also check for fill (how to tell if a block has uncontrolled fill) and slope.

LayeredGeo's Terrain Report is a $9 PDF with a contour map, cross sections through the lot, the peak grade and the driveway grade from the street for one property in any of the six states it covers, including Victoria. The Pre-Purchase Property Report bundles the Property Report, the Flood Model Report (where a model is held) and the Terrain Report for $25. For anyone planning to build or extend, LayeredGeo's geotechnical desktop study is a $119 PDF covering mapped geology, nearby bore logs, soils, groundwater, slope and an indicative soil reactivity range for Victorian addresses. It is a desktop study, not a site investigation.

How long is the cooling-off period in Victoria?

Most private home sales have a cooling-off period of three clear business days after you sign. You give written notice to the seller or their agent, and the seller may keep $100 or 0.2% of the price, whichever is greater. It does not apply at a publicly advertised auction, or to a sale within three clear business days before or after one, so finish inspections before you bid. Nor does it apply to industrial or commercial land, farmland over 20 hectares, a second contract on the same terms, or a buyer who is an estate agent or a company.

Common questions

What should I check before buying a house in Victoria? Check the section 32 statement, the zone and overlays in VicPlan, flood and bushfire mapping, the title and the ground, then get a building and pest inspection and an insurance quote.

What searches do I need when buying a house in Victoria? The core searches are the section 32 statement, the VicPlan Planning Property Report and a Melbourne Water flood level certificate if a flood overlay applies. A conveyancer can add a Landata planning certificate.

How do I check if a property floods in Melbourne? Look up the address in VicPlan for flood overlays, then order a Melbourne Water flood level certificate, which carries a fee and takes up to 14 days. LayeredGeo's $9 Flood Model Report adds modelled depths where a published model covers the address.

What report should I get before buying a house in Victoria? Start with the free VicPlan Planning Property Report and the section 32. For zoning, overlays and easements in one PDF, LayeredGeo's Property Report is $9 and the Pre-Purchase Property Report, with flood model and terrain, is $25.

Is there a cooling-off period when buying a house in Victoria? Yes, three clear business days after you sign for most private sales, but not at auction or within three clear business days before or after one.

To run the zone, overlay, flood and terrain checks for a Victorian address in one pass, pop in your address or check out a sample report first.

LayeredGeo's Property Report pulls together public planning and site data for property due diligence across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania, so you can understand a place before you commit.

About this article. Published by LayeredGeo and written from the published research cited in the Sources section above. It is general information about how property and ground conditions are assessed in Australia, not engineering, planning, legal or financial advice, and it is not specific to any property. Check anything that matters against the source dataset or a suitably qualified professional before you rely on it. If you spot something wrong, tell us at hello@layeredgeo.com.au and we will fix it.

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