Property Law

Property Law – the origin of the term “real property” means property relating to things. Historically, land was the most important thing that you could own, thus the term “real” linked with “property” meant land, which was contrasted with personal or other property. The distinction between land and other property is carried through today with New Zealanders’ commonly-expressed love affair with land, contrasted with their interest in forms of less tangible property such as shares and other securities.

Land never goes away but the legal rules surrounding it are always evolving. As Auckland and New Zealand develop and adapt to the requirements of zoning, resource management regulations, overseas investment consents, taxation and financiers, as well as due diligence surrounding matters such as leaky homes, compulsory acquisition of land, ground rents and Treaty of Waitangi claims.

What causes the most complications for most people is the complexity of the contracts drawn up for the acquisition and disposal of land, construction permissions and restrains, leasing and financing. As well as this, there is the ever-present possibility of dispute over the land involved, which could lead to litigation if mishandled.

Our property team uses our firm-wide private client, family, commercial, financing and dispute resolution skills to help you achieve your property goals and concerns, whether you want to find or sell a house, protect it from creditors, spouses or partner, invest in land, develop it, use it commercially as a lessor or lessee, owner or farmer or simply enjoy it through a lifestyle property or a holiday home.

From contract to completion, our skills and commitment make your project happen in the following areas:

Residential Property Law

Moving house can be one of the most stressful events in life. We provide a comprehensive service to make the process of buying or selling a property as smooth as possible. We can help you with any of the following:

• Sales and purchases
• Mortgages and refinancing
• Cross leasing and unit titles
• Multi-unit apartments
• Property sharing agreements
• Ownership structures
• Asset protection schemes including relationship property agreements and family trusts
• Wills and estates
• Real estate agency issues including commission disputes
• Auctions
• Leaky homes

Commercial Property Law

Our commercial property focus extends across a wider range of clients and industries and includes:

• Sales and acquisitions of land and buildings
• Financing
• Investment structures including property funds and syndication
• Construction
• Commercial leasing (such as industrial and retail at high street and mall  locations)
• Unit title developments
• Retirement villages
• Lease negotiation and dispute resolution

Property Development
Our property development team are available to advise on:

• Property due diligence
• Building Act and other legislative regimes
• Resource Management and Treaty of Waitangi issues
• Subdivisions – commercial, industrial, residential, rural
• Multi-titled developments and cross-leasing
• Project Finance
• Joint Ventures

We work closely with local authorities and your other professional advisers (tax, accounting, resource management, engineering and construction and real estate agents) to ensure your project is managed to completion on time and on budget.

Rural Property Law

We have extensive experience in rural property law both at our Highbrook and Warkworth offices. Our rural property services include:

• Overseas investment and residency issues
• Immigration-related to real property
• Sales and acquisitions of farms and horticultural blocks
• Lifestyle properties
• Ownership structures including trusts, relationship property and estates

We are members of the Property Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society. Contact us on +64 9 969 0126 or by email.