When an uneven floor in an older Sydney apartment may conceal magnesite, a buyer should ask their NSW solicitor or conveyancer to negotiate a special condition before exchange. The condition should not merely require the vendor to “fix the floor”. It should define access, investigation, strata approval, removal scope, contractor responsibility, inspection hold points, completion evidence and the remedy if hidden slab damage or incomplete work remains at settlement.

An uneven apartment floor is often priced as a future renovation item. A buyer notices a ridge beneath the carpet, a soft transition near the balcony door or a room that feels slightly higher at one end. The problem is added to a list with painting, joinery and new flooring, then deferred until after settlement.

In an older Sydney strata building, that assumption can be commercially dangerous.

Unevenness does not prove that magnesite is present or that the concrete slab is damaged. It may come from worn underlay, previous patching, a screed transition, old adhesive, local slab variation or a poorly installed floor finish. However, where magnesite topping is present, removing the visible flooring may expose a much broader sequence involving demolition, waste handling, concrete assessment, grinding, repairs, levelling, acoustic compliance and strata approval.

The issue is therefore not only whether the buyer can afford to remove an old floor. It is whether the contract gives the buyer a workable response before ownership, access, contractor bookings and settlement funds become locked into place.

The Floor Is a Transaction Signal, Not a Visual Diagnosis

Buyers should resist two opposite mistakes. The first is assuming that every uneven floor is evidence of serious slab deterioration. The second is treating the problem as cosmetic because the existing carpet or floating floor remains usable.

A visual inspection cannot reliably establish what lies beneath the floor finish. Even where the topping is exposed at a cupboard edge or doorway, the visible section may not represent the condition across the apartment. A useful assessment may need to distinguish between:

The decorative floor covering and underlay
Magnesite, screed, adhesive or previous levelling material
The structural concrete slab
Localised patching or earlier remedial work
Moisture entry from balconies, windows, wet areas or plumbing
Changes in height between rooms and different floor systems

Buyers arranging an inspection should document the floor systematically rather than relying on one photograph. Elyment’s guide to photographing magnesite flooring before requesting removal quotes explains why doorway transitions, perimeter edges, staining, cracking and access conditions need to be recorded separately.

NSW Government guidance recommends obtaining relevant inspection reports before exchange because significant physical problems can be costly once the contract becomes binding. Where the proposed investigation involves lifting flooring, sampling material or opening a concealed edge, the buyer will also need the vendor’s written consent.

Why the Standard Settlement Process May Leave a Gap

NSW buyers are advised to review the sale contract, settlement details and special conditions before signing. This is particularly important where the physical condition of the floor is central to the purchase decision.

The ordinary conveyancing process does not automatically give a buyer the right to enter the apartment, remove flooring, appoint contractors or direct the vendor’s renovation work before settlement. Under the standard NSW contract structure, legal title and possession ordinarily pass at completion.

A final inspection is also narrower than many buyers assume. Its usual purpose is to confirm that the property remains in substantially the same condition as when contracts were exchanged. It is not automatically a technical certification that magnesite has been removed correctly, that the concrete is suitable for new flooring or that an agreed remediation scope has been completed.

If the buyer wants investigation, removal or rectification to occur before settlement, the contract needs to deal with that outcome directly.

This becomes even more important at auction. Once the hammer falls, the successful bidder is generally legally committed to the purchase. Any requested floor condition should therefore be negotiated, accepted and inserted into the contract before bidding, not raised after the auction has concluded.

The Special Condition Should Control an Outcome, Not Promise a “Good Floor”

A vague condition stating that the vendor will “repair the uneven floor” can create more disagreement than protection. It does not identify the material to be removed, the area covered, the required standard, who selects the contractor or what happens if removal exposes concrete deterioration.

The more useful approach is to ask the buyer’s NSW solicitor or licensed conveyancer to prepare a condition addressing four connected stages:

Investigation: What access, inspection or testing must be permitted?
Removal: What material and floor area must be removed, by whom and under what approvals?
Verification: What evidence must demonstrate that the agreed scope has been completed?
Failure response: What contractual consequence applies if the work is incomplete or a more serious condition is discovered?

The condition must be drafted for the specific transaction. It should not be copied from a contractor’s quote, an online template or an agent’s email.

Important: The following is an operational checklist, not model legal wording. A NSW solicitor or licensed conveyancer should draft or approve the actual special condition and consider the lender’s requirements.