Section 126 of the Instruments Act 1958 requires writing and a signature. The essential terms are the parties, the property and the price, and without those recorded in a signed writing a court will generally not enforce the bargain even where intention to contract is clear.
Only the party to be charged needs to have signed. If the vendor seeks to enforce against the buyer, the vendor must prove the buyer's signature, and if the buyer seeks to enforce, the buyer must prove the vendor's signature. Where one party makes a signed written offer and the other accepts and communicates acceptance, the accepting party can enforce against the party who signed even though the accepting party did not sign, because the signer is the party to be charged. A court must still be satisfied the parties intended to create legal relations.
Two equitable doctrines can rescue an unsigned or oral agreement. Part performance applies where a party has acted on the agreement in a way that points unmistakably to a contract concerning the land. Equitable estoppel may also assist where a party has relied to their detriment on an assumption the other encouraged. Both are fact specific and difficult to run.
This is the kind of matter CMK Legal's property and conveyancing team handles.
Email chains and handshake deals may or may not satisfy section 126, and the dispute is expensive to resolve after the fact. Part performance and estoppel are exceptions argued in court, not a substitute for a signed contract.
Law referenced: Instruments Act 1958 s 126; doctrines of part performance and equitable estoppel.