Buyer win: Developer’s off-the-plan cancel attempt crushed by court

The 40-storey Chevron One development under construction in 2025. Picture: Glenn Campbell In a major victory for off-the-plan buyers, a court has ruled a high-rise developer can’t use a sunset clause to cancel buyer contracts after it failed to complete a development on time. The landmark victory saw the Supreme Court of Queensland slam the door on a high-rise developer trying to deny off-the-plan apartment buyers dream properties they entered into contracts over during the pandemic. Bensons Property Group developed the Chevron One apartment tower on the Gold Coast. Picture: Supplied The court battle delivered a massive blow to developer Chevron Apartments Pty Ltd – a corporate entity associated with Melbourne-based property giant Bensons Property Group behind the 40-storey Chevron One development on the Gold Coast – after it had attempted to cancel original buyer contracts signed in early 2021. Justice Paul Freeburn handed total victory to three buyers, issuing formal court orders declaring that contracts for their units remain 100 per cent valid and binding. “The court declares that the contract entered into on 19 May 2021 between the parties for the sale of proposed unit 703 to ...