This book is only available in PDF format

Authors: Thomas Gibbons, Robert Metcalf
Published: 9 April 2018
Pages: 32

Introduction

The Land Transfer Act 2017 (the Act) was passed in July 2017 and is expected to come into force in November 2018. The Act implements many of the recommendations from the Law Commission’s 2010 report A New Land Transfer Act.¹ The purpose of the Act is to replace the Land Transfer Act 1952 (the 1952 Act) with a modern Act that continues and maintains the Torrens system and retains its fundamental principles, while reflecting the fact that the land transfer register is now kept and operated electronically.

The 1952 Act was drafted to support the operation of a paper-based land transfer system. It repeated many of the provisions from earlier land transfer acts dating back to 1870, and its language reflected this. The 1952 Act operated alongside two amendment acts – the Land Transfer Amendment Act 1963 (LTAA) and the Land Transfer (Computer Registration and Electronic Lodgement) Amendment Act 2002 (CRELA). The LTAA dealt with applications for title based on adverse possession, while CRELA created a statutory framework for electronic registration. The Act consolidates these three Acts into one and modernises the language to reflect the operation of an electronic register.

In addition to bringing together the provisions of the 1952 Act, the LTAA and CRELA, the Act will repeal the Statutory Land Charges Registration Act 1928 (SLCRA) and incorporate its provisions into the Act to give the Registrar-General of Land (Registrar) greater control over the registration of statutory land charges.

While the Act does not fundamentally change New Zealand’s Torrens system of land registration, it introduces new terminology and instruments, and brings about changes in certain key areas. For example, the Act introduces a limited judicial discretion allowing alteration of the register in certain circumstances where immediate indefeasibility would result in manifest injustice. It also makes some changes to the State compensation system, by amending the time periods relating to guaranteed searches and altering the method of calculation of land value for compensation claims.

This webinar is focused on key highlights and practical tips to prepare you for the forthcoming changes.² A full-length seminar will be offered by NZLS CLE on this topic in October 2018. This paper will briefly review the structure of the Act and then examine the main changes. that are likely to be of interest to conveyancing practitioners.

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1     New Zealand Law Commission in conjunction with Land Information New Zealand A New Land Transfer Act (NZLC R116, Wellington, 2010) [R116]. See also New Zealand Law Commission, Review of the Land Transfer Act 1952 (NZLC IP 10, Wellington, 2008 [IP10].
2     See also Thomas Gibbons, A Practical Guide to the Land Transfer Act (LexisNexis, Wellington, 2017) for further discussion on the new Act.

Content outline

• Structure of the Act
• New Terminology
• Definition of Fraud
• Guaranteed Search Timeframes
• Registrar's Powers of Alteration
• Certification and Lodgement of Electronic Instruments
• Withholding Information
• Manifest Injustice
• Compensation
• Covenant Instruments and Covenants in Gross
• Limited Certificates of Title
   

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