Transfer of land to be held for a purpose

To ensure such details are properly recorded in Landonline, it is essential a statement of that purpose be included in the transfer details in the appropriate manner. Land that is transferred to the Crown pursuant to the Public Works Act 1981, for example, should include a statement of the public work for which it is held.

Depending on the requirements of the authorising statute, this may also trigger further action by LINZ. For example, where land is transferred to the Crown for the purposes of the Land Act 1948, this may result in cancellation of the corresponding record of title pursuant to section 42, subject to certain exceptions (see section 42(4)).

Land may also be transferred to a local authority for a particular statutory purpose.

Practitioners acting on behalf of a Crown agency or local authority in such matters should therefore seek full client instructions on these aspects, and must ensure the correct purpose statement or designation is included in the transfer details submitted to LINZ.

Note that purpose statements should not otherwise to be included in transfers unless there is specific statutory authority for doing so. For example, references to family trusts in the case of privately-owned land are strictly prohibited (see section 153 Land Transfer Act 2017).

LINZ actively monitors these requirements and will seek clarification if they are not properly addressed.

How to include purpose details in a transfer

Practitioners must therefore address these issues and include the relevant purpose information when submitting transfers of land to the Crown or a local authority.

The following example demonstrates how you should enter purpose details when preparing an e-dealing transfer.

Example: Transfer of land to Her Majesty the Queen for scenic reserve purposes

1. Open the Prepare Transfer screen from either Workspace or Create Dealing.
2. Select Part of Land/Complex mode.

   

    

3. Check the box in the Transferor column to indicate who is affected.
4. Click Display Transferor to check the affected Transferor(s) details.
5. Select the type of ownership for the Transferee, this example uses the default Sole or Joint Tenants.
6. In the Transferees area in the Corporate Name field, enter Her Majesty the Queen only.
   
   Note: Only enter the name in the Corporate Name field, any extra details should be entered using the Add Text button.

   

7. Click Display Transferee to see the new owner details.
8. Click Add Text.

   

   In the Add Text pop up box, enter details about the purpose in the free text field 'Additional Clauses, Conditions or Intent'.
9. Click OK to close the Add Text screen.
10. Click Preview to display the details that you added to the Add Text screen.

Note: The same process should be used for land transferred to Her Majesty the Queen as Crown Land subject to the Land Act 1948.

It is essential to use the 'Add Text' functionality to record the purpose, so that the dealing will step down to LODGE and LINZ can update the register to record the purpose and carry out other actions as appropriate.