In some parts of the world, it is illegal to sell a house which is said to be haunted without full disclosure and consent.
For example, in the case of Stambovsky v. Ackley (1991) in New York (also known as the “Ghostbusters ruling,") Jeffrey Stambovsky purchased a haunted house and later sought to rescind the contract, claiming that the seller, Helen Ackley, had not disclosed the property's past paranormal activity. The paranormal activity allegedly involved strange noises, sightings of spirits and his daughter’s bed unexplainably rattling at night.
The court ruled in Stambovsky's favor, stating that Ackley's failure to disclose the haunting history rendered the contract void. The case set a legal precedent in New York, affirming that a property's reputation for being haunted could be considered a material fact that should be disclosed to potential buyers, underlining the significance of full and accurate property disclosures in real estate transactions.
In New South Wales, there is no similar precedent at this stage but it is possible that it could fall within the definition of a material fact that needs to be disclosed under section 52 of the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002.
While the concept of ‘material fact’ is essentially a subjective one (or at least a non-exhaustive one), the law does explicitly mention some things that are definitely material facts like a history of violent murders in the house.
In 2004, real agents from LJ Hooker paid back the deposited sum of $80,000 and were fined by the NSW Office of Fair Trading for attempting to sell the house where Sef Gonzales brutally murdered his family a few years prior.
Similarly, most solicitors agree that it is necessary to disclose the existence of a grave site on a property - which is actually not an uncommon thing on some older rural properties.
So it is not beyond of stretch of imagination that selling a haunted house may one day be regarded as a material fact.
That said, most Australians at this stage are skeptical when it comes to things like haunted houses and, whilst it is not impossible, it would take a fairly massive step in legal precedent and cultural acceptance of the paranormal for a vendor to have to disclose a haunted house.
