There has been a very important Supreme Court decision relevant to all people using the standard form ADLS/REINZ agreement for sale and purchase, whether for residential or commercial deals. The facts Property Ventures Investments Limited v Regalwood Holdings Limited concerned the sale and purchase of a commercial property in Christchurch for $1.5m. The standard…
DetailsTraditionally body corporate levies have been based on unit entitlements. A unit entitlement is reflective of the value of one unit, compared to the value of others within the development. Once set, they have always been extremely difficult to change and that inflexibility has caused unfairness in sharing costs amongst body corporate members. The costs for a lift…
DetailsCurrently there is plenty of live debate about the role of the property manager in the commercial sector. Lots of individuals have long term experiencing with managing commercial buildings, negotiating leases and working alongside real estate agents. Despite protestations, it sounds like they are now caught by the Real Estate Agents Act. And it sounds like for many of…
DetailsMany new businesses are founded on great ideas. Often, they find an “edge” or niche in the market that others have not thought of yet. This is the role of entrepreneurs. They invariably need help creating a “ground up” legal structure. The structure will vary depending on the size and sophistication of the business. A…
DetailsThe 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. We have set up a discussion group on…
DetailsTwo labour only subcontractors have found themselves liable in negligence to the current and future owners of a house they had helped build. Their liability was assessed at as being a 20% share of the loss. Yes, it was a leaking problem. (60% of the responsibility was attributed to the plasterer and 20% to Council).…
DetailsThe 2009 amendment to the Building Act is (in the most part) now in force. It introduces a new regime “national multi-use approvals” (or MultiProof as the Department of Building and Housing are branding it). This is to enable volume builders of simple buildings to obtain prior approval from the DBH to plans and specifications.…
DetailsIndependent trustees are no doubt very aware that contracts they enter into with third parties expose them to personal liability, unless there is a clause in the contract limiting their liability. Trustees who regularly use the standard (ADLS/REINZ) form of agreement for sale and purchase of real estate would also be aware that the current…
DetailsThe Unit Titles Bill is slowly working its way through. Hopefully we see a new Unit Titles Act this year because it is definitely needed. The second reading of the bill was completed on 16 February 2010. The bill now goes to the Committee of the Whole House. We will keep an eye on developments.…
DetailsIn October last year the promised streamlining of the Resource Management Act came into effect. Perhaps all of the property developers had already gone to ground, or perhaps it was because the need for change had been so long in the coming that the fanfare wasn’t great. There wasn’t a lot of noise about the…
DetailsWhat a Court considers a reasonable time for completion of a subdivision might be longer than you think! For example, it might be perfectly reasonable for a developer to defer applying for a resource consent until zoning issues are resolved. Making time of the essence for the performance of an obligation is a tool for use to…
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