Study completed on the likely state of the conveyancing/land development environment in 2020

20 December 2011

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS), Auckland District Law Society Incorporated (ADLS Inc) and the New Zealand Bankers Association have completed a joint study on the likely state of the conveyancing/land development environment in 2020, how they contribute and what needs to be done to get there.

The final report outlines a shared view of the future conveyancing/land development environment, and recommends key principles, strategic priorities and initiatives as the basis for moving into the future.

In forming the shared view and the key principles, strategic priorities and initiatives, the working group:
 
  • Conducted a study, including three working sessions, with the focus of - the future environment, the challenges in moving from today to the future and what can be done to overcome these challenges:
  • Considered:
    • International trends
    • New Zealand legislation and regulatory issues
    • Context of the conveyancing/land development market 
    • Industry demands, participants and their roles 
    • Technology issues
    • Submissions from legal and survey professionals, territorial authorities, organisations working in the conveyancing/land development market and people from the wider industry.

The shared view of the future conveyancing/land development environment is based on the following guiding principles:

Crown guarantee of title

LINZ will continue to regulate the land title system based on Torrens principles - registered landowners will hold state-guaranteed title and be entitled to fair compensation where an innocent owner has suffered loss due to the operation of the system.
 

Secure title system

The risk of unauthorised transactions will be managed by leveraging new technology, including government based online solutions for more robust client identity verification in the context of conveyancing transactions.

Future-proofing land rights

Working with the conveyancing and land development industry, LINZ will build on and refine the existing land title system and regulatory framework to support future needs and new and emerging property rights.
 

End-to-end e-conveyancing and land development

Leveraging existing arrangements for online registration, LINZ, the Law Society and the Banking industry will work together and with others, to achieve a more fully integrated, seamless e-conveyancing and land development environment.

Seamless land information

Though rights, obligations and restrictions affecting land may be administered or recorded across a range of agencies, all relevant information and data associated with a particular property should nevertheless be made easily available online, through a single channel or in aggregated form – current, complete and accurate.

First time compliance

LINZ, NZLS, ADLS Inc and the banking industry will work in partnership to ensure lawyers and conveyancers understand their obligations and have all the guidance necessary to achieve first time compliance with the requirements for registration.

The final report and information about the joint study can be found here.

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