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The Historic Title: How to Find Out The Previous Owners Of A Property

Posted on March 14, 2011 by in Blog, Certificate of Title, council, Interest

Do you want to find out the previous owners for a property? If so, all you need to do is order a Historic Title as this title will provide you with all the original owners as well as all transfers registered.

The Historic/Historical Title will be marked ‘Historical Search Copy’ at the top of the page below the main heading of “Computer Freehold Register Under Land Transfer Act 1952″.

This type of Title will also have a search date which is found at the bottom right hand corner of the first page:

The Historical Title contains a search date

The Historical Title contains a search date

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How to Prepare a Locality Plan (aerial photograph) for a Resource Consent Application for Auckland Council

Posted on March 6, 2011 by in auckland, Auckland Council, Blog, Certificate of Title, council, Resource Consent

Just the other day I got an email asking about the locality plan (or aerial photograph) that is required by Auckland Council when lodging a resource consent application. I thought I would share my way of providing this locality plan as it may save you some time and money.

The requirement for a locality plan/aerial photograph is mentioned on page 3 of the Auckland Council Resource Consent Application Form (see the screenshot below), along with the requirement for a recent Certificate of Title (less than 3 months old) and any relevant consent notice, covenant or easement. Certificates of Title can be ordered here and any relevant consent notice, covenant or easement can be ordered here.

A Locality Plan is to be Submitted with Every Resource Consent Application for Auckland Council

A Locality Plan is to be Submitted with Every Resource Consent Application for Auckland Council

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Discharging a Mortgage from a Certificate of Title

Posted on February 16, 2011 by in Blog, Certificate of Title, Interest

Most people, when buying a property, will need to take out a mortgage on the property. This mortgage is always registered onto the property’s title. Registering the mortgage on the title protects the bank’s interest in the property so that when a property is sold, the the owner must repay the loan to the lender.

When the loan is repaid, the lender ‘removes’ or ‘discharges’ the mortgage from the property’s title to give the new purchasers a ‘clean’ title.

In the event that a mortgage on a property is repaid in full, it is not automatically removed or discharged from the property’s title. The mortgage remains as an interest on the property’s title until your lawyer or legal executive acts on your behalf to apply to have it removed or discharged. There is usually a small charge associated with the document to discharge or remove the mortgage plus your lawyer or legal executive fees to undertake this work.

Another instance where you may wish to modify or update a certificate of title is if there are incorrect details recorded on it. This may include a misspelt name or company name or incorrect legal description. To change or correct any details you just need to fill out the relevant contact form and return to Land Information New Zealand.

Planning (Zoning) Maps – one of the most useful tools of a District or Regional Plan

Posted on December 6, 2010 by in auckland, Blog, council, District Plan, queenstown, Zoning

Planning maps are one of the most commonly referred to parts of District and Regional plans. They are usually the first part of a District/Regional plan you need to look at to identify the limitations that apply to your site and accordingly, the relevant rules that will apply. Planning maps contain useful information including:

  • zoning
  • designations
  • policy area boundaries
  • hazard areas
  • significant sites
  • scheduled features such as buildings, trees, structures etc.
  • sometimes plan changes are referenced
  • special height limitations (i.e. for volcanic cone protection, or height restrictions around Airports)

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What information do I need to be able to order a Certificate of Title from Cheap Titles?

Posted on November 11, 2010 by in Blog, Building Consent, Certificate of Title, Resource Consent

There are different types of information that you can provide in the “Enter Property Address…” field when ordering a Certificate of Title from Cheap Titles. These are explained as follows:

The Street Address

When providing a street address to order a Certificate of Title it is important to provide sufficient information to identify the particular property from any other property in New Zealand. For example, there are many Queen Streets in New Zealand so if you are after Queen Street in Auckland – it will safe time, and will ensure that you get the correct Certificate of Title by including suburb and city information in your request ie 1 Queen Street, CBD, Auckland.

The Legal Description

When providing a legal description to order a Certificate of Title it is important to provide as much of the description as possible to ensure that the correct Certificate of Title is identified and obtained for you. The location of the legal description on a Certificate of Title is shown on the image below:

The location of the Legal Description on a Certificate of Title

The location of the Legal Description on a Certificate of Title

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Can I Erect a Sign or Billboard On My Residentially Zoned Property? (Examples from the former Auckland City Council and Queenstown Lakes District Council)

Posted on November 11, 2010 by in Auckland Council, Blog, District Plan, queenstown, Uncategorized, Zoning

This article explains the types of signs or billboards that are generally allowed on residential properties using examples from the former Auckland City Council and Queenstown Lakes District Council. As always, all District Plans or rules for a district/city are different, so it depends on the area (and zone) of your property as to what sort of signs and/or billboards that you can erect.

It is also important to note that not all District Plans provide rules on signage. For example, in the former Auckland City Council, rules regarding signs and billboards are provided within the Council Bylaw rather than the District Plan.

Signage is controlled in the former Auckland City Council by the Signs Bylaw rather than the District Plan

Signage is controlled in the former Auckland City Council by the Signs Bylaw rather than the District Plan

Firstly, before I discuss a few examples – it is important to note that there are significant differences between a sign and a billboard.

The former Auckland City Council Bylaws describe signs as:

Sign means a message or notice conveyed using any visual media, which can be seen from a public place and which advertises a product, business, or service or informs or warns the public. A sign includes the frame, supporting device and any associated ancillary equipment whose principal function is to support the message or notice. It includes but is not limited to a billboard, mural, banner, flag, balloon, poster, sandwich board, wind sock, blimp or projection of light.

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Odd or Interesting Council Bylaws from around New Zealand:

Posted on November 11, 2010 by in Auckland Council, Blog, Christchurch City Council, council

Most councils within New Zealand use the Local Government Act 2002 (“LGA 2002″) to create rules or regulations to order something to be done, or not to be done. Bylaws are usually enforceable and are therefore accompanied by some form of penalty for failing to comply with the rules or regulations. Section 145 of the LGA 2002 states that the purpose of making Bylaws is:

(a) protecting the public from nuisance:
(b) protecting, promoting, and maintaining public health and safety:
(c) minimising the potential for offensive behaviour in public places.

In reviewing Council Bylaws for various projects that I have been involved with, I have come across rules for all sorts of issues from keeping chickens in a city, to signage, to food stalls. In particular, I have come across several amusing or interesting rules. So, I thought I would share a few of these with you:

  • The former Auckland City Council Public Places Bylaw (2008) requires that, except with the permission of an authorised officer, or a licence from council, a person shall not, in, on, or over any public place bathe or wade in any fountain or water feature or permit or cause the wastage of water. Try telling that to the kids who make it a summer time activity!

Kids playing in Mission Bay Fountain, Auckland, NZ. Photograph by Mike Holland, August 12 2009 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/14224731@N08/3813449356/. Authorised for use by Mike on 11 November 2010

Kids playing in Mission Bay Fountain, Auckland, NZ. Photograph by Mike Holland, August 12 2009 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/14224731@N08/3813449356/. Authorised for use by Mike on 11 November 2010


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How the Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) Scheme Affects the Building Industry

Posted on November 8, 2010 by in Blog, Building Act 2004, Building Consent, council

Since the leaky homes problem came to national prominence, the Building Act has been thrown into the public limelight. With such intense scrutiny on the regulatory framework around building in NZ (or lack thereof), successive governments have been trying to tighten up regulation and deliver better quality homes for Kiwis.

The Building Act 2004 is the current law governing most building work. It paved the way for some important changes which are about to take effect and hopefully change the building industry for the better.

For anyone designing or building in 2011, the most significant of these changes is the full introduction of the Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) Scheme. The essential aim of the LBP scheme is to encourage better building and design so that the consumer is more protected by our legislation than was previously the case.

Spark Architecture

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Some Key Elements that can be on a Certificate of Title

Posted on November 2, 2010 by in Blog, Building Consent, Certificate of Title, Resource Consent

A recent Certificate of Title (usually a title that has been issued within 3 months) is required to accompany every application for resource and building consent. It is useful to know what sort of information can be contained within a Certificate of Title because some councils require that documents relating to this additional information be provided when lodging a resource or building consent. Generally if this additional information is not provided, the council may consider that your application is ‘incomplete’ and will return it to you. This delays the processing of your consent until you can provide the missing information and return the whole application back to council.

Some information that can be contained on a Certificate of Title is as follows:

Limited to Parcels

This is common on older Certificates of Title (such as on land subdivided in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s) which may not have surveyed properly. If your title has the words ‘Limited to Parcels’ on it (if applicable this wording will be located below the main heading at the top of the page) and your application involves building works in close proximity to a property boundary you will most likely also need to submit with your resource consent application, a letter or certificate from a qualified surveyor that confirms that the proposed building works will not create any non-compliances with the District Plan (i.e. the letter or certificate will state that if the property were to be surveyed accurately the proposed works would not create any non-compliances with the District Plan rules by being located too close to a boundary).

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Auckland Council – Please Consider the Environment Before Requesting Four Copies of an Application!

Posted on November 1, 2010 by in auckland, Auckland Council, Blog, Resource Consent

Today is the first day of the new Auckland Council and the first day of summer and I didn’t really want to have a gripe with either but I do. Firstly, what happened to the fantastic weather that was Labour Weekend? I arrived back in the country from being over in London and Spain just before the weekend and was pleasantly pleased to be back with such stunning weather but what has happened to this? Fingers crossed the good warm weather returns quickly.

However, my real gripe/frustration and the reason for this article is directed at the requirements for any resource consent application lodged with the new Auckland Council. I have already identified that there are some changes that affect resource consent applications and one of these changes is that there are new application forms to be filled in to accompany a resource consent application lodged with Auckland Council. The first annoying aspect of this is that there are now two forms to be filled in – but personally – and I don’t know why – I actually delight in filling in forms so this is not a major problem. But the most annoying aspect is that four copies of each piece of information is now required. Four copies!!!! In this digital age it seems bizarre to me that this many paper copies are required. Especially as most of the information for an application (for example, the architectural plans, the certificate of title, any expert reports such as infrastructure/servicing, traffic, arboricultural, noise, etc.) are all provided in an electronic format that could be simply forwarded to council and forwarded to the relevant processing officers to eliminate the need to print at council.

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