Imagine how difficult it is for lawyers to limit their comments to 140 characters. We face a dilemma having to leave some ambiguity in our message. Reducing beautifully formed, grammatically correct language to a small group of symbols and abbreviations goes against the grain. It’s hard for us. Perhaps that is why as a group, we…
DetailsPossession Before Settlement Sometimes on the sale of a residential property, the purchaser wants possession even though settlement is not going to take place when expected. That can occur for a number of reasons: The vendor is not ready. The purchaser cannot settle yet. For some reason the parties agree to extend the settlement…
DetailsAnother interesting bill was proposed just before Christmas, the “Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Bill”. If passed this would enable people with leaky homes to settle with the Government and Council for up to 50% of their repair costs. A lot of the commentary has dismissed the 50% contribution as inadequate. Council’s…
DetailsAnother interesting bill was proposed just before Christmas, the “Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Bill”. If passed this would enable people with leaky homes to settle with the Government and Council for up to 50% of their repair costs. A lot of the commentary has dismissed the 50% contribution as inadequate. Council’s…
DetailsAnother interesting bill was proposed just before Christmas, the “Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Bill”. If passed this would enable people with leaky homes to settle with the Government and Council for up to 50% of their repair costs. A lot of the commentary has dismissed the 50% contribution as inadequate. Council’s…
DetailsAnother interesting bill was proposed just before Christmas, the “Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Bill”. If passed this would enable people with leaky homes to settle with the Government and Council for up to 50% of their repair costs. A lot of the commentary has dismissed the 50% contribution as inadequate. Council’s…
DetailsThe Building Act 2004 review continues. The Building Amendment Bill (No 3) had its First Reading on 9 December 2010. It is now with the Select Committee for review and submissions on the bill close on 4 March 2011. There are a number of interesting changes proposed in this bill. The first change of note is…
DetailsThe transfer of homes into trusts is common place. It is done every day. People do it to protect their assets, to create a distinction between the entity owning the significant assets and the person taking on board liabilities. Abolishing gift duty will make the transfer of assets easier and avoid the need for long…
DetailsThe Department of Building and Housing is calling for submissions on how well the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA) is working in practice. In particular comments are sought as to whether: the CCA should apply in its entirety to residential construction contracts? there are better options for enforcing adjudication orders? adjudication orders should be able to be appealed? adjudication…
DetailsCabinet has agreed what the regulations to the Unit Titles Act 2010 will cover. It appears we will be given a mix of regulations (prescribing mandatory requirements) and consumer guidance documents (to enable the minimum requirements to be added to if a body corporate wishes to). This is to enable certainty or flexibility, depending on…
DetailsVendors registered for GST who signed a contract for the sale before 1 October 2010 and for whom settlement has not yet occurred may find some comfort in section 78 of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985. That section makes it clear that where the GST rate is changed at law every agreement is…
DetailsCommon areas and the requirement to become a member of a society or a shareholder in a company have been popular means of managing residential subdivisions over the last decade. They necessitate compliance with the Securities Act 1978 although an exemption from full compliance has been established for these types of developments. Provided a developer…
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