Real Estate Agent: Vendor Sold Privately to Your Buyer and Won’t Pay Commission?

You listed the property, ran the opens, found the buyer. Then the vendor “withdrew” the listing, and three weeks later the property settled to the same buyer you introduced. Now they’re telling you there’s no commission because “it was a private sale.”

That’s not how agency agreements work. And you’ve probably got a strong claim.

Read your agency agreement

Almost every standard agency agreement in Australia (REIV, REINSW, REIQ and equivalents) includes an “effective cause of sale” or “introduction” clause. Put simply: if you introduced the buyer during the agency period, and that buyer ends up purchasing, you’re entitled to commission, even if the contract is signed after the listing ends or the vendor tries to do it privately.

Many agreements also include a “continuing period” (often 60 to 120 days) after termination during which sales to buyers you introduced still trigger commission. Check your agreement for the exact term.

State-specific rules matter

Property agents are regulated under state legislation: the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (New South Wales), the Estate Agents Act 1980 (Victoria), the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Queensland), and equivalents. These require agency agreements to be in writing and, in some states, to include specific warnings. If your agreement is compliant, your commission claim is enforceable.

Proving you were the effective cause

Pull together:

• The signed agency agreement showing dates and commission rate
• Open-for-inspection records showing the buyer attended
• Emails, texts and calls with the buyer
• Any offer the buyer made through you
• The settlement date and price (from the title search or the vendor’s own announcement)

The Letter of Demand

A Letter of Demand to the vendor sets out:

• The agency agreement, its term and commission provisions
• That you introduced the buyer during the agency period, with evidence
• The sale price and the commission calculated under the agreement
• A 14-day deadline for payment
• Notice that proceedings will follow in the tribunal or court, with interest and costs

Vendors who go around their agent usually think they’ve been clever. A letter showing you’ve got the open-house sign-in sheet with the buyer’s name on it tends to end the cleverness.

What’s at stake

On a $900,000 sale at 2 per cent, you’re chasing $18,000 plus GST. That’s not a rounding error. Every week you wait, the vendor spends the proceeds and gets harder to recover from.

Next step if unpaid

Depending on the amount and your state, the claim goes to VCAT, QCAT, the Local Court (New South Wales) or the Magistrates or District Court. Keep good records: an effective-cause claim depends on them.

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.