The Act regulates the notifications and certificates required to be given to the Registrar-General of Land (RGL), relating to:
- construction of buildings on land subject to natural hazards, and
- buildings straddling boundaries.
1. Construction of buildings on land subject to natural hazards
If a building consent authority considers that:
- natural hazard(s) affect a building site, and
- the building work is unlikely to cause or increase a natural hazard on the site, and
- the natural hazard justifies a waiver or modification of the Building Code
It must grant consent subject to the condition that it will give notification under section 73 identifying the natural hazard, as follows:
| Land type | Must be notified to | Must include Project Information Memorandum |
Must include details of Natural Hazard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crown | Relevant Minister and Surveyor-General | Yes | No |
| Maori | Maori Land Court Registrar | Yes | No |
| Others | Registrar-General of Land | No | Yes |
Except where an entry has already been made, under section 641A of the Local Government Act 1974, or section 36 of the Building Act 1991, the RGL will record on the record of title of the building site:
- that a building consent has been granted under s72, and
- particulars that identify the natural hazard(s).
If the building consent authority determines that the entry is no longer required, the RGL will remove it on receipt of notification under section 73 from the authority.
2. Buildings straddling boundaries
A Project Information Memorandum (PIM) application may relate to land comprised, or partly comprised, of two or more allotments of one or more existing subdivisions, held by the owner in fee simple.
With certain exceptions (see section 76 of the Act), the territorial authority (TA) must state in that PIM as a condition of the grant of a building consent, that the allotment(s) it specifies must not be transferred or leased, except in conjunction with some other allotment(s) it specifies.
A building consent authority must not give consent until the TA has issued a certificate under section 75 imposing the condition, a copy of which it must lodge with the RGL.
The RGL will then record the certificate on the record of title of each allotment or part allotment.
However, where the RGL is satisfied that it is not practicable or desirable to do so, the RGL may require:
- the deposit of a plan, amalgamating the allotments into a single allotment, or into two or more allotments, and
- the creation of one or more records of title for the land in terms of the plan.
If a TA agrees to an owner's application to the removal of the entry, it must lodge a certificate under section 78 with the RGL, who must record on the records of title of each allotment, or part allotment, that the entry has been removed.
Forms and fees
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has approved downloadable forms on their website. The forms include:
- Notification of Condition, under section 73(1)(c) and 73(3)*;
- Notification of Redundant Entry, under section 74(3) and (4)*;
- Certificate Imposing Condition, under section 77(4)*; and
- Certificate Approving Removal of Entry, under section 83(3)*.
*Section references are to those requiring the lodging of documents, not those imposing or removing conditions.
While LINZ recommends use of the suggested forms by all authorities, any document satisfying the requirements of the Act will be accepted for registration.