NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 2

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< MI S S U E M T W O M> MM < M 3 M D E C E M B E R M 2 0 0 1 M>

As experienced registration agents, we constantly keep abreast of the latest news, rulings and services in relation to land and company information.
In this section, you will be able to access our monthly newsletters, which are packed with information useful to your practice.

Introduction

We have had an interesting time with the conversion of the South Auckland Registry to Landonline, what with the 24-hour turnaround for Title and document searches imposed by LINZ and an increase from 10 working-days to 26 working-days for new titles to issue from simultaneous lodgement dealings. Making matters even more interesting is the fact that all this is occurring right before Christmas - traditionally our busiest time of the year!

(We do have our LINZ contacts, and for those very urgent or potentially damaging situations we have been able to provide searches within the hour).

With the current delays in mind, it may seem that there are not many benefits to the Landonline system. However, we can see light at the end of the tunnel. We have been using our Landonline licences to access the LINZ database for some months now in those registries already converted. Once the conversion process is complete we will be able (at your instruction) to email Title and document searches directly to your desktop or anywhere else you require. This flexibility will enable you to enjoy all the benefits of the LINZ database without having to purchase expensive licences and meet the additional costs in staff resourcing and training. Utilising our services will provide you with a cost-effective option to achieve an end result you can trust.

Our goal is to provide you with a "peace of mind New Zealand-wide solution". We aim to achieve this through our specialised staff keeping informed of the latest updates and changes, backed up by the necessary technical and computer resources. Consider us "part of your team", freeing-up your time to devote to what you do best .

LINZ's South Auckland Registry Begins Conversion to Landonline

The South Auckland Registry began its conversion to Landonline on 5 November 2001. From this date the following Transition performance standards apply:

Plan approvals for accredited surveyors - 13 working days for 90% of plans.
Plan approvals for non-accredited surveyors - 26 working days for 90% of plans.
New Titles issued or ordinary registration noted against existing titles - 20 working days for 95% of titles.

The conversion process has also resulted in delays for certificate of title, plan and other document searches. The South Auckland Registry now operates under the following timeframes:

Search requests received by LINZ between 9.00 am and 12.00 pm will be available by 9.00 am the following day.
Search requests received by LINZ between 12.00 pm and 3.00 pm will be available by 12.00 pm the following day.
Search requests received by LINZ between 3.00 pm and 4.00 pm will be available by 4.00 pm the following day.

The South Auckland Registry still offers the simultaneous lodgement procedure for plans prepared by surveyors accredited by LINZ. However the combined processing time for the approval as to survey of the plan and the issue of new titles is now 26 workings days.

We appreciate that the above timeframes represent deterioration in the level of service that you have come to expect. Regretfully, the delays under Landonline are not of our making and are beyond our control. Rest assured, we will continue to provide accurate and reliable information in as timely a manner as LINZ's timeframes will allow.

Caveats Registered in the Hawke's Bay Registry

Section 138(1) Land Transfer Act 1952 requires that a physical address for service of notices on the caveator be provided that is within the district of the LINZ registry for the land that is to be made subject to the caveat.

When provided with caveats to be registered in the Hawke's Bay Registry, and no such address for service is provided in that registry, we have previously utilized the physical address of our sub-agent Harrison's Agency Limited. However, owing to the conversion of the Hawke's Bay Registry to Landonline and the subsequent closing of the Registry's physical office, Harrison's Agency Limited have advised that they can no longer offer their address for service from 1 November 2001.

Due to an oversight when drafting the Land Transfer (Automation) Amendment Act 1998, Section 138(1) of the principal Act was not amended to take into account the fact that registration for a satellite registry (such as Hawke's Bay) was to be processed by the regional registry (such as Wellington) under Landonline. Therefore, although the Hawke's Bay Registry has now closed its doors and its work processed by the Wellington Registry, we are still required to nominate an address for service within the original Hawke's Bay district.

We have spoken at length with both the Registrar-General of Land and various District Land Registrars, but they all advise that the above rules will continue to apply until there is an appropriate amendment to the Land Transfer Act 1952.

Therefore, should you have any caveats still extant within the Hawke's Bay Registry nominating Harrison's Agency Limited as the address for service of notices on the caveator, we would strongly urge you to take advantage of the provisions of Regulation 26 Land Regulations 1966, by arranging for the caveator to advise the District Land Registrar of the Wellington Registry in writing that it wishes this address to be changed. We advise that we now use Bisson Moss, Solicitors, Tennyson Chambers, Tennyson Street, Napier, as our agents.

We would be pleased to forward any such notices on to LINZ's Wellington Registry on your behalf to prevent the possibility of the caveat unintentionally lapsing pursuant to Section 145 Land Transfer Act 1952. Should you wish us to establish if a caveat is still in existence, or any other details pertaining to it, please provide us with either the relevant caveat registration number or the Certificate of Title reference for the land subject to the caveat .

Easement Certificates and Servient Tenementstificate of Title Searches

Although LINZ's South Auckland registry has relaxed its interpretation of Section 90A Land Transfer Act 1952 somewhat, we feel it is timely to re-state their rules with regard to Easement Certificates and servient tenements:

The servient tenement must be a whole allotment on a plan. LINZ's CT Diagram plans are not sufficient for this purpose. Where the servient tenement is described as a part allotment, a transfer granting the easement must be used. (N.B. When using a transfer, the grantor and grantee must be different persons.)
The plan describing the servient tenement must have been deposited for the purposes of the Land Transfer Act 1952. Therefore, the plan must have a DP or DPS prefix. SO & ML plans, for example, are not acceptable, as the Registrar-General of Land does not deposit such plans.
The plan describing the servient tenement must have been deposited on or after 1 April 1962.
Where a subdivision is subdividing part of an allotment, and the plan of survey has been prepared in accordance with the Survey Regulations 1998, an Easement Certificate may be used where the balance is the servient tenement. This is because Regulation 19 requires the balance lot to be described as a separate lot on the plan. The Registrar-General of Land is satisfied that such a lot meets the test set out in Section 90A(1) Land Transfer Act 1952.

(Please note that it is perfectly acceptable to describe the course of an easement on an easement plan, rather than a subdivisional plan. The plan describing the servient tenement, however, will need to meet the above criteria. This is because LINZ does not accept the argument that the boundaries of an allotment shown on an easement plan constitutes a plan of the servient tenement)

Please do not hesitate to contact our Land Titles Consultants for further advice on when it is appropriate to use an Easement Certificate .

F a r e w e l l

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.
We look forward to continuing to provide you with information that will be of value to your practice. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments in regard to this newsletter - we would love to hear from you.

Disclaimer
Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information within this newsletter, we are not liable for the results
of any action taken on the basis of the information given or any
errors or omissions.

PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS
> ISSUE 1 - 14 AUGUST 2001

in this issue
Introduction
LINZ's South Auckland Registry Begins Conversion to Landonline
Leases and Landonline
Caveats Registered in the Hawke's Bay Registry Easement Certificates and Servient Tenements
Land Covenants and Section 224 Resource Management Act 1991
Amendments to Certificates of Title under Landonline
Declarations of Loss of Mortgages and Landonline

Amendments to Certificates of Title under Landonline
We advise that the South Auckland Registry, when making a correction to a Certificate of Title, is now issuing a Computer Freehold Register title for the land comprised therein and destroying the duplicate title presented. A duplicate Computer Freehold title will also be issued, although this will only show the current interests that the land is subject to. (Please also note that some interests, such as caveats, charging orders and notices of claim, will not show on the duplicate title issued.).

Declarations of Loss of Mortgages and Landonline
We have had enquiries from some of our clients regarding declarations of loss of mortgages in situations where the missing mortgage is being further dealt with under the Landonline system. One of the advantages of Landonline is that we are not required to produce the duplicate copy of a mortgage to LINZ when further dealing with it. Therefore, for the registration of discharges of (or other dealings with) missing mortgages in Landonline registries, it will no longer be necessary to provide a declaration of loss to the Registrar. (Please note that the duplicate copy of the Certificate of Title subject to the mortgage is still required to be produced under Landonline when discharging or varying the mortgage).

Land Covenants and Section 224 Resource Management Act 1991
An interesting question arose recently in regard to whether or not the dominant owners under a land covenant needed to provide their written consent to the deposit of a subdivisional plan. In this instance, the land being subdivided was subject to the burden of a registered land covenant, and a portion of that land was to vest in a local authority as road pursuant to Section 238 Resource Management Act 1991.

The District Land Registrar of the South Auckland registry advised that he required the written consent of all the dominant owners in the land covenant to the deposit of the plan pursuant to Section 224(b)(i) of the Act. Part of his reasoning was that Section 126A(1)(c) Property Law Act 1952 states that a land covenant noted against the register is an interest within the meaning of Section 62 Land Transfer Act 1952, and he therefore considered that Sections 224, 238 and 239 Resource Management Act 1991 applied.

Therefore, where land is to vest in the territorial authority or Crown pursuant to Section 238 Resource Management Act 1991, and that land is subject to the burden of a land covenant registered under the Land Transfer Act 1952, it will be necessary to obtain the written consent of all the dominant owners to the covenant. The same provision will apply to vestings pursuant to Section 239 of the Resource Management Act 1991, unless the territorial authority or Crown certifies (under Section 239(2)) on the plan of subdivision that the land concerned is to vest subject to the covenant.

(In light of the consents required, Developers may prefer to avoid registering building scheme land covenants against land that they intend to develop further.) .

Leases and Landonline
Leases registered prior to the conversion to Landonline are required to be produced to LINZ when transferring, mortgaging or varying them for the first time under the new system. This is because LINZ will issue a Computer Interest title under Section 13(2) Land Transfer (Automation) Amendment Act 1998 for the leasehold estate. After such a title is issued, the duplicate lease will no longer need to be produced when further dealing with the leasehold estate. Only the duplicate copy of the Computer Interest title will be required.

New leases to be registered under Landonline are also accorded a Computer Interest title. However, in this instance, LINZ will levy a new title fee of $131 in addition to the registration fee of $38.

Please note that the above only applies to leases. It is not a requirement to produce the duplicate copies of other documents (e.g. mortgages) when further dealing with them under Landonline.