About Notice of Change legislative changes
What has changed?
The Rating Valuations Regulations 1998 have been amended such that from 1 October 2026, certain property sales information must be provided to the Valuer-General through the Notice of Change (NoC) process in Landonline.
Information that was previously optional or not consistently supplied is now mandatory where the amended requirements apply.
Solicitors and conveyancers acting for vendors must provide the information, which includes sale price, agreement date, and settlement date. Other information about the nature of the sale must also be provided, for example the GST position. Further information on what is required is provided in the FAQs on this page.
The NoC form is the only way this information can be submitted, except for manual transactions and certain transfers where the information can’t be submitted through the NoC, for instance, where information in the land registry is withheld on safety grounds.
The Valuer-General will monitor the information submitted, and the regulations now incorporate an enforcement and compliance regime, including fines for noncompliance.
Check whether a Notice of Change (NoC) is mandatory or recommended for different instrument types and ownership change scenarios:
Notice of Change requirements by instrument type
Why were the changes introduced?
The changes are intended to improve the quality, completeness, and consistency of property sales information used in New Zealand's rating valuation system. Better sales data supports more accurate, auditable and consistent rating valuations across councils.
Is this a completely new process?
No. For conveyancers and solicitors who already complete a NoC as part of the transfer workflow, the overall Landonline process should remain familiar. The main change is that for sale and purchase transactions, required sales fields must be completed fully and accurately.
Who must comply and which transactions are affected
Who is responsible for providing the information?
The legal obligation sits with the vendor's lawyer or conveyancing practitioner unless the vendor is unrepresented in the sale (i.e. a manual transfer). In practice, lawyers and conveyancers acting for vendors will continue to provide the required information through Landonline NoC as part of the conveyancing process.
Which transactions are affected?
The requirements apply to all property sale transactions. If a practitioner is already completing a NoC for a transfer of ownership, the new mandatory sales information requirements applies.
Are manual dealings affected?
Separate guidance and forms will be provided for transactions that cannot be completed through the standard electronic workflow.
Information that must be provided
What information needs to be provided?
Any sale transaction requires the following information:
- Sale price
- Agreement date
- Settlement date
- Whether the sale price is inclusive of GST (yes/no)
- Whether any property other than land, buildings, household chattels and minor farm chattels are included in the sale price (yes/no)
- The nature of the transaction, for example market vs non-market sale. The options for selection are prescribed by Rule 9 of the Rating Valuations Rules 2008.
Guidance on information required in the mandatory fields is provided here:
Guidance on required fields in Transaction section of Notice of Change
Was the sale price already mandatory?
Yes. Sale price information was already required under Local Government legislation. The changes support compliance with this legislation through the prescribed NoC process and introduce new requirements to support Rating Valuation, including providing the information to the Valuer-General and a specific monitoring and enforcement regime.
Do practitioners need to verify information provided by clients?
Practitioners should take the same professional approach they currently apply when entering information supplied by clients. Where information is uncertain, practitioners should seek confirmation before submitting the NoC.
What if the transaction is unusual?
Further guidance will be developed for complex or less common scenarios, such as sales involving related-party sales, multiple titles, partial transfers. The Valuer-General's team is available to assist with questions.
Is information provided released publicly?
Information on property sales will continue to be released by local authorities, after names and addresses have been removed, as was the case prior to these changes.
The Valuer-General supports sales information being publicly available as a critical input into the rating valuation system, including giving owners the ability to check their rating valuation against local sales evidence.
What if the sale price is confidential?
The law requires sale and purchase information to be provided for rating valuation purposes. Confidentiality agreements do not override this legal requirement. You may need to explain these obligations to your client or the real estate agent.
Landonline process and information flow
Do practitioners need to learn a new Landonline workflow?
The workflow remains familiar for practitioners who already use the NoC function. The change is mainly about the mandatory requirement to complete sales fields accurately and in the required manner.
Is the information still sent to councils?
Yes. The NoC process continues to support territorial authorities updating ownership information. Required property sales information is also provided to the Valuer-General.
Does the Valuer-General receive the sales information directly?
Yes. The amended arrangements provide for required property sales information to be supplied to the Valuer-General through the NoC process in Landonline. This allows the Valuer-General to undertake monitoring and compliance activities.
Corrections and post-registration scenarios
What if an error is discovered after registration?
A previously submitted NoC can be corrected by creating a Corrected Notice of Change (CNoC). Corrections can generally be submitted from the next working day after registration.
See: Correct a previously submitted Notice of Change (CNoC)
What if the NoC was not completed before registration?
Where appropriate, a Post Registration Notice of Change (PRNoC) can be created after registration. Landonline includes functionality to submit a PRNoC where required.
See: Create a NoC post registration (PRNoC)
Can the original submitted NoC be edited directly?
Changes to a submitted NoC can be made through a Corrected Notice of Change (CNoC). Corrections can generally be submitted from the next working day after registration.
See: Correct a previously submitted Notice of Change (CNoC)
Penalties, monitoring and enforcement
What happens if required sales information is not provided?
The amended Rating Valuations Regulations have introduced an enforcement regime administered by the Valuer-General. Failure to provide required sales information, including in the required form and manner, may constitute an offence under the regulations.
Are there financial penalties?
Offences for non-compliance with sales data notification requirements are in place from 1 October 2026, with penalties not exceeding $5,000.
What conduct may create compliance issues?
Compliance issues may range from a failure to provide required sales information, failure to provide supplementary sales information, failure to provide information within prescribed timeframes where applicable, failure to provide information in the required form and manner, and providing incorrect information.
Who monitors compliance?
The Valuer-General administers the monitoring and enforcement regime for the sales data provision requirements.
Did enforcement start immediately?
LINZ and the Valuer-General have offered support, guidance and practitioner engagement before and since the changes took effect. Monitoring of data commenced from 1 October 2026 and decisions on enforcement will be proportionate to the circumstances, on a case-by-case basis.
Who could be liable for penalties?
Under the regulations, lawyers and conveyancers acting on behalf of vendors will be liable for penalties.
Support, guidance and implementation
Has LINZ provided training and support?
Yes. Guidance material, updated Landonline help pages, FAQs and practitioner communications were developed to support implementation. We also engaged with legal professional bodies. Guidance on information required in the mandatory fields is provided here:
Guidance on required fields in Transaction section of Notice of Change
Where can practitioners get help?
Support includes updated Landonline guidance pages and LINZ customer support channels, as well as practitioner webinars, engagement sessions, and implementation guidance before commencement.
What should firms do to support implementation?
We suggest you review current NoC workflows, identify who gathers sale information from clients, check file-opening or settlement checklists, and ensure staff know which NoC fields have become mandatory.