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. We wrote about an April 2011 decision of the Auckland High Court following a fire in Kingsland (see Destruction and leases). The latest decision was…
DetailsA 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. This is no surprise to any of us who have lived through the GFC and its impact on the property and finance sector in New Zealand. As a…
DetailsThe Government has recently released the proposed draft Financial Markets Conduct Bill (Bill). The Bill represents a comprehensive review of securities law. It will replace the existing Securities Act. The Bill removes the troublesome concept of “offer to the public”. Instead, unless an exemption applies, disclosure is required. Disclosure is made using a single product…
DetailsEarthquakes in Auckland are a rare occurrence, despite us having had one last month. What happened in Christchurch has got everyone thinking though, not least of all the lawmakers and there are new rules to be adhered to in relation to our buildings and whether they are strong enough. Auckland Council has just released its…
DetailsAgreements for sales off the plans will include sunset clauses – or "twilight" clauses as a client called them the other day. I like that new name it seems more accurate somehow. They will also be subject to s225 of the Resource Management Act. It is an interesting section, aimed at protecting the purchaser. First it gets…
DetailsThe changes to the NZ investor migrant policy that we flagged a couple of months ago have just been made operative. This should be of interest to developers seeking development funding. Migrants can now invest in residential property developments in order to secure residency. Residential property development has been added as an “acceptable investment” for migration…
DetailsA lessor must tread very carefully when considering the position of a lessee who has not yet exercised its right to renew the lease. The Property Law Act 2007 assists a lessee by providing relief in two situations where a right of renewal would otherwise be lost: • Where the lessee has breached a condition precedent to…
DetailsMany agreements being signed now will be subject to the new seller’s disclosure regime. Agreements for sale and purchase for a unit title property will be subject to the new disclosure regime if entered into before 20 June with settlement after 27 June 2011. Agreements entered into on or after 20 June are also subject…
DetailsWe were interested to hear that the investor migrant policy is changing with effect from 25 July 2011. Residential property will be an "acceptable investment" for migrants relying on the ‘investor’ category to seek residency in NZ. The migrant’s own house will not be an acceptable investment. Investment will need to be made in new…
DetailsLessors 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. The lessor was held liable to pay damages to the lessee…
DetailsUnit entitlements In the past all body corporate levies have been assessed on unit entitlements. Because unit entitlements are based on value, historically different owners using the same facilities could be required to contribute to costs to differing extents. This system was criticised as being unfair and imposing an irrelevant assessment model on costs. In…
DetailsWhat is happening in Christchurch is impacting on the New Zealand property industry in all sorts of ways. One of these is the debate regarding contractual obligations between the parties. Most leases inadequately deal with the situation in Christchurch. Whilst they may deal with partial destruction and total destruction they do not adequately cover many…
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