Landwrap May 2016 - Issue 127

Issue 127

This month we provide an update on Landonline, new Knowledgebase articles, law firm self-assessment questionnaire, requests for urgency and ASaTS.

Landonline maintenance releases 3.13 & 3.14

All Landonline users

A small Landonline maintenance release went live Monday 4th April.

For survey users that release contained a modernised Pre-validation report which includes colour coding for items that need to be addressed, the ability to expand and compress items and the option of viewing the report via html if preferred. There has been positive feedback about the new look.

For Titles users the release included removing the contract date exemption for tax statements to meet statutory requirements. Also it is now possible to enter a future date when preparing the tax statement (being the date it will be signed by client), but that date cannot be later than the date the transfer is being signed.

We are now working on the Landonline maintenance release 3.14 which is scheduled to go live in early August. Further details about content will be provided closer to the time.

New Knowledgebase articles

Surveyors

The Knowledgebase on the LINZ website is the first place to look if you have a query when preparing a CSD.  It contains some of the information previously included as ‘Tips and Hints’ on the old Landonline website.

Two new Knowledgebase articles have been recently created – ‘Water boundaries: an overview’ and ‘Common marine and coastal area considerations for surveyors’.  If you are preparing a survey that has a water boundary and/or some land below MHWS, these articles are a good place to start.

Self-assessment questionnaire for law firms

Lawyers

In May, LINZ will be requesting that law firms and conveyancers complete a self-assessment questionnaire. This is a handy tool for assessing the strength of your conveyancing processes.

We’ve worked with the Property Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society and New Zealand Society of Conveyancers to design this voluntary questionnaire.

It helps you assess your processes as well as controls for transactions lodged via Landonline, and can identify areas that need improvement. It also provides useful information, which can be used for internal training.

Firms who have previously received this questionnaire or who have been audited by LINZ auditors won’t be sent the questionnaire. If you don’t receive the questionnaire and would like to share findings within your firm, you can download one from our website.

Read about the Self-assessment questionnaire for law firms

Submit a request for urgency

Surveyors

You can now submit a request for urgency, in certain circumstances, using a new Landonline request called ‘Survey_Request for Urgency’.

Read more about frequently used request types

ASaTS

All Landonline users

We’ve gone out to market for our Advanced Survey and Title Services project (ASaTS), a project to replace the Landonline system for property transactions.

We aim to have ASaTS in place by 2021. It will expand the services we offer our customers, allow us to hold a complete picture of all land in New Zealand and help to link property data held across government.

Surveyors and conveyancers will be able to plug their own software into the system and use it on their tablets and mobiles. ASaTS would enable the 3D digital representation of property rights and there’s potential for it to improve survey processes like survey plan generation and CSD capture.

At this stage we are talking to vendors about these ideas as part of the procurement process. Once we’ve developed and documented these ideas we’ll consult with customers and others to get their feedback.

Read more about ASaTS and what it will mean for surveyors, conveyancers and homeowners.

More information on potential innovations for surveyors will be discussed in the June issue of Surveying and Spatial.