Understanding your record of title

You should check your record of title when planning your building work or activity

Your record of title (previously referred to as a computer freehold register or a certificate of title), is the official document showing ownership of land.  A record of title also provides a list of the rights and restrictions (recorded individually and referred to as ‘instruments’) that apply to the land.

With the exception of some Maori land, most privately owned land in New Zealand is held under the land title system of the Land Transfer Act 1952.

One of the important early steps in planning a project is to carefully check your record of title to see if there any rights or restrictions that may affect what you would like to do.  Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is responsible for keeping title records and you can order a copy of the title directly from them, or alternatively your surveyor, land agent, or solicitor may be able to do this on your behalf.  Normally when you order a record of title you will not automatically receive copies of all of the instruments (documents providing full details of the rights and restrictions) that are registered against the title.  These will need to be specifically ordered from LINZ.

Below are some common restrictions that are found on records of title:

A consent notice is a form of covenant between Council and the landowner that is imposed through a subdivision consent. A consent notice relates to a condition of a subdivision consent that must be complied with on a continuing basis by the owner and subsequent owners. Because a consent notice is an agreement between the Council and the landowner, the Council will enforce any non-compliance.

Your record of title may have an encumbrance or covenant recorded against it and it is important that you understand what that means.  A land covenant may be a private agreement or it may be imposed by the Council, for example under a land use consent.  For private agreements in particular, you should seek advice from a professional before proceeding too far with planning your project.  Generally, we will not get involved with the enforcement of private covenants.

For Council imposed covenants there will be records available from us to help you understand the reasons why the restrictions have been imposed.

An easement is a right to use the land of another without owning that land. The land subject to the easement is the ‘burdened land’ (previously known as the 'servient tenement'). An easement may be:

  • for the benefit of the owner of other land, when it is said to be 'appurtenant to' or attached to the ‘benefited land’ (previously known as the 'dominant tenement') or
  • an easement 'in gross', meaning it is for the benefit of a specific person or corporation, e.g. Council.

The ‘grantor’ of an easement is the registered owner of the burdened land. The ‘grantee’ is the registered owner of the benefited land, or the person who receives the benefit of an easement in gross.

Some common easements deal with:

  • rights of way – the grantee can walk or drive a car etc over the burdened land, such as a shared driveway
  • drainage – the grantee such as an adjoining owner can drain water over the burdened land
  • right to convey electricity/gas/telecommunications and computer media – the grantee can run utilities through pipes or lines through the grantee’s land.

Further information

The Quality Planning website contains useful information on reading and interpreting titles. 

We also recommend that you take advice from a professional if you are unclear on the rights and restrictions that apply to your land.