The 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…
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…
DetailsThe UTA2010 requires 3 disclosure statements to be given by the seller of a unit to a buyer of a unit. These are: • The pre-contract disclosure statement – to be given before an agreement for sale and purchase is entered into • The pre-settlement disclosure statement – to be given no later than 5 working days before settlement…
DetailsThe long awaited LAQC reforms have finally been released. The gist is that LAQC owners will be given the option to become a new “look-through company” where profits & losses will flow to owners or transition to a sole trader, partnership or limited partnership. If no election to take up these options is made, the…
DetailsThe warranty was that “all obligations under the Building Act 1991 were fully complied with” as at the date possession was granted. Although the warranty only applied if the vendor had done works, a recent case has shown that the reach of the warranty may be further than people had expected. The Court of Appeal…
DetailsYou will recall that a lessor cannot unreasonably withhold or delay consent to an assignment, sublease or change of use if there is a covenant in the lease requiring the lessee to first obtain the lessor’s consent. A lessor who unreasonably withholds consent or delays can be held responsible for damages. We have lived with these…
DetailsIndependent Witnesses – What the Law Requires Statute imposes specific obligations on how a power of attorney is to be signed and witnessed. In 2008 changes were made to the legislation that enabled the giving of enduring powers of attorney. The changes were intended to protect the people granting powers of attorney from being coerced…
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