Crown property management

What property does the Crown own?

Toitū Te Whenua manages the 2 million hectares of land that is owned by the Crown. We manage this ‘Crown estate’ to deliver the greatest benefits to all New Zealanders, both for today and in future.

The Crown estate includes:

• land held for Treaty settlements
• the beds of lakes and rivers
• forest land
• high country pastoral land in the South Island
• sites such as Waihi gold mine
• residential and commercial properties, closed schools, courthouses and prisons.

Caring for the Crown estate

We do a wide range of work on the Crown estate, such as:

• acquiring, maintaining and disposing of land
• managing the tenancies of farmers who lease grazing land
• identifying and managing risks (for example, protecting the plants and animals on Crown land)
• providing management advice and services for other Crown agencies
• releasing assets to iwi for Māori and regional development.

More on Crown property

Explore the Guidance section for information on purchasing Crown land, including iwi Right of First Refusal, and how to apply to use Crown land.

Crown property guidance