Category: Property Law

• 11/5/2012 - “What is material?”
  Boundary adjustments and redevelopments under the Unit Titles Act 2010.
• 10/5/2012 - Defective Titles 3 - 0
  There have been a spate of recent cases about requisitions. That is, purchasers objecting to defective titles.
• 9/5/2012 - Improvements rent percentage - Can landlords recover some of their costs?
  Post Christchurch improvements rent percentages in leases come under the spotlight.
• 8/5/2012 - Residential Developers and Building Amendment Bill (No.4)
  Another way for a buyer to cancel a pre-sale contract?
• 3/4/2012 - Warranty vs due diligence
  The High Court recently considered whether a purchaser's failure to carry out due diligence prevented them from claiming damages for breach of warranty.
• 23/3/2012 - Have we got the balance right? Is caveat emptor dying a slow death?
  A recent decision requires agents to know precisely what is registered on titles they sell.
• 21/3/2012 - What if Council information is wrong?
  The Supreme Court considers responsibilities for incorrect information in a LIM
• 21/3/2012 - Property Council Manifesto - Fast Forward to Growth
  A brief introduction to the recently launched manifesto
• 28/2/2012 - What is quiet enjoyment?
  Issues with quiet enjoyment in commercial leases
• 27/2/2012 - Unit Titles – 8 months on
  The next key date and some problems with apartment conveyancing
• 2/2/2012 - Merry Christmas Mrs Forster
  The tale of the first prosecution under s 141 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008
• 19/12/2011 - Buying a bach?
  Can you contract on the back of an envelope?
• 19/12/2011 - Summer trading hours and leases
  There are some decisions that a lessor can retain complete control over in their lease.
• 19/12/2011 - Working days
  What are "working days" through the Christmas holiday period?
• 11/11/2011 - Pre-auction legal checks
  The majority of residential sales seem to be by auction at present. A reminder about the pre-auction legal checks you should make.
• 2/11/2011 - Felling Trees This Summer
  New rules about felling trees and how the court says they are to work.
• 4/10/2011 - Gift duty is no more!
  Things to think about when gifting under the new regime.
• 28/9/2011 - Destruction and leases (again)
  There has been another case in relation to the ADLS standard lease clause, which provides the term of a lease shall at once terminate if there is destruction or damage rendering the premises untenantable.
• 22/9/2011 - Void Purchase Agreement - A Good Reason Not To Settle?
  A number of property subdivisions completed within the last 2 or 3 years were originally pre-sold at levels well above market value at the time of settlement.
• 30/8/2011 - Earthquake Prone Buildings in Auckland
  Auckland Council has just released its policy for investigating whether buildings in its city are earthquake-prone
• 3/8/2011 - You snooze, you lose - RMA and the developer
  s225 Resource Management Act, when can a purchaser cancel?
• 28/7/2011 - Can a lessor refuse to renew?
  A lessee gets an interim injunction preventing the lessor from taking back the premises following lease expiry, despite the lessor's best efforts to manage the renewal process.
• 28/7/2011 - Development funding anyone?
  Migrants can now invest in residential property developments in order to secure residency. This will be of interest to a developer seeking development funding.
• 31/5/2011 - You must read this if you are selling a unit title property
  Many agreements being signed now will be subject to the new seller's disclosure regime.
• 27/5/2011 - Invalid cancellation of lease
  Lessors are encouraged to take a lot of care and attention when cancelling leases under the Property Law Act 2007. The Supreme Court's decision on 10 May 2011 in Ingram & Knee v Patcroft Properties Limited shows that care and attention is very important.
• 12/5/2011 - Bodies Corporate - who pays for what?
  The Unit Titles Act 2010 introduces new concepts of 'ownership interest' and 'utility interest'. These replace the concept of 'unit entitlement'. These interests impact on the contribution an owner must make to unit title costs.
• 3/5/2011 - Compulsory GST zero rating - new GST rules
  From 1/4/11 it became compulsory for certain land transactions to be CZR. The regime will apply to almost all transactions involving land that are made between GST registered parties. There are some limited exclusions.
• 3/5/2011 - Destruction and leases
  What is happening in Chrischurch is impacting on the NZ property industry in all sorts of ways. One of these is the debate regarding contractual obligations between the parties.
• 3/5/2011 - Unit Titles Act 2010 Developers and Disclosure
  The impact of the Unit Titles Act on developers.
• 29/4/2011 - Layered Developments under the Unit Titles Act
  Here is a recent newspaper article discussing layered developments under the Unit Titles Act.
• 25/3/2011 - New tender form
  There is a new ADLS/REINZ standard form of particulars and conditions of sale by tender.
• 25/3/2011 - Are body corporate management contracts ultra vires?
  The Westin Hotel management contract is upheld as enforceable but the secretarial services contract is void.
• 25/3/2011 - Unit Title regulations
  The awaited unit title regulations are expected to cover a range of issues.
• 3/3/2011 - The Reasonable Landlord
  How to tell if a landlord's decision is reasonable.
• 22/2/2011 - Possession: It’s 9/10ths of the Law
  Granting possession before settlement can solve some practical problems but it also raises tricky legal issues
• 21/2/2011 - Weathertight Homes - Financial Assistance Package
  A Bill providing for leaky homeowners to get up to 50% of their repair costs from Government and Council has been proposed.
• 20/2/2011 - Building consents
  The Building Act review continues. The Building Amendment Bill (No 3) had its First Reading on 9 December 2010. It introduces 4 categories of building consent.
• 29/11/2010 - Gifting your house to the trust, does it really work?
  The transfer of homes into trusts is common place. It is done every day. A Supreme Court decision has called for a re-think of just how much protection this arrangment does give.
• 15/11/2010 - Construction Contracts Act Review
  The Department of Building and Housing is calling for submissions on how well the Construction Contracts Act 2002 is working in practice.
• 8/11/2010 - What's looking likely for the regulations to the Unit Titles Act 2010?
  Cabinet has agreed what the regulations to the Unit Titles Act 2010 will cover.
• 19/10/2010 - GST A Vendor Can Collect – 12.5% OR 15%
  A useful section in the GST Act enables changes to the price to catch the GST increase.
• 18/10/2010 - Vendor's Warranties
  If you bought or sold a property between July 1999 and 2006 your agreement for sale and purchase likely included a far-reaching vendor's warranty.
• 18/10/2010 - LAQC Reforms
  A brief overview of the changes to the LAQC regime provided by Mark Withers of Withers Tsang & Co.
• 18/10/2010 - Consent under the Property Law Act 2007
  When is consent unreasonably withheld to an assignment, sublease or change of use?
• 18/10/2010 - Disclosure and the Unit Titles Act 2010
  The Unit Titles Act 2010 requires 3 disclosure statements to be given by the seller of a unit to a buyer of a unit.
• 20/9/2010 - Rent reviews - may or shall...
  Can a lessor be made to review the rent?
• 20/9/2010 - Earthquakes, Insurance and Unit Titles
  Insurance proceeds don't usually get paid to the owner or the mortgagee when a unit title is damaged. The Unit Titles Act sets other requirements.
• 13/9/2010 - Insuring private infrastructure
  Does land need to be insured?
• 31/8/2010 - Which body corporate rules are ultra vires?
  A brief look at body corporate rules found to be ultra vires by the Court to date.
• 23/8/2010 - New Agreement for Sale and Purchase of Real Estate
  The next time you pick up an agreement for sale and purchase of real estate, chances are it will be the latest version (eighth edition 2006(3)) jointly released by the REINZ and the Auckland District Law Society last week.
• 19/8/2010 - Getting to know the new Unit Titles Act.
  Webinars on the new Unit Titles Act
• 26/7/2010 - More about the Land Transfer Act changes - Land Covenants and Encumbrances
  The Law Commission suggests some changes to the law relating to covenants and encumbrances
• 22/7/2010 - Review of Land Transfer Act
  The review was tabled in Parliament this week.
• 22/7/2010 - Tenancy law changes
  The amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act were passed by Parliament on 20 July.
• 22/7/2010 - Pre-sales contracts
  What do development funders want to see in pre-sales contracts at the moment?
• 2/7/2010 - When can a purchaser discount the purchase price?
  At settlement a purchaser can now elect to discount the purchase price by a fair estimate of the purchaser's loss if the vendor is in material breach of warranty. The vendor cannot insist on settlement in full.
• 23/6/2010 - Commercial Property Management
  Do you need a real estate agents licence to manage commercial real estate? Are commercial property managers caught by the Real Estate Agents Act 2008
• 17/5/2010 - Unit Titles Update
  The new Act is not yet in force as the regulations are being finalised. We expect it later this year or early next. Those involved in unit titles will need to be ready as the transitional arrangements are concerned only with the body corporate rules and maintenance.