Development halted causing 'distress, financial strain'

Land buyers have been left in "distress and financial strain" after a 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 on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. The estate is already home to 7500 residents with 2500 existing lots and has begun selling land in two more stages of the project. Sunshine Coast 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. Council claimed land 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. In a letter to AVID chief executive Cameron Holt, Ms Natoli said 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," Ms Natoli 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 to the site, calling on AVID to fast-track implementing the system so approvals can 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. They said contracts disclosed that development approvals were still yet to be obtained and allowed buyers to terminate the contract with a deposit refund if the approvals were not given within 12 months. "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. Once approval was given, the developer said buyers could settle their land and start construction of their new homes.