Supreme Court Rules On Incorrect Information Regarding LIM Reports

The Supreme Court has ruled that if a Council negligently includes incorrect information in a Land Information Memorandum,and the person who bought the LIM relies on that incorrect information, the Council will be liable for any loss suffered by that person as a result.
The case involved the purchase of some land in Marlborough by a buyer who wanted to plant grapes on the land. The purchase agreement was conditional on a satsifactory LIM, and the LIM showed that the property had a certain number of water rights. After settlement,

A new property law will come into effect soon which means that certain building work can only be designed or carried out by a licensed person.

The new law affects residential buildings or small to medium sized apartment buildings (generally, those which are less than 10 meters high). The property law does not apply to commercial buildings, mixed use buildings, or building work for which a building consent is not required(e.g. emergency work).

The type of building work which is restricted is carpentry work, block and bricklaying, foundations, roofing, and external plastering.

Also restricted is design work for the primary structure of

When a property is owned by more than one person, who should sign the sale and purchase agreement?

Two or more individuals:
A spouse or de facto partner does not have the authority to sign the agreement for the other spouse or partner, unless one person has appointed the other as that person’s agent. It is possible for someone to have “implied authority”. This is where one person, by words or conduct, has lead a third party to believe that the other person has authority to act on that person’s behalf. However, it is best not to have to

It is common for a buyer to add the words “or nominee” under a purchase agreement when the buyer is not sure who will complete the purchase at the time the agreement is signed, or if the buyer wants to be able to form a company or trust to complete the purchase. Can the nominee enforce the agreement against the seller? A nominee is not a signatory to the original contract, and normally only the people who sign a contract can enforce it. However, the Contracts(Privity) Act 1982 says that if a party to a contract promises in

When buying a property, you may be told that there is an easement registered against the title. An easement is created when a land owner grants another land owner or someone else, such as a services company, the right to do certain things on part or all of their land.

The most common types of easements are rights of way, which allow a neighbour to walk and/or drive over part of the land to provide access between the neighbour’s land and a public road, or the beach.
Services easements allow a neighbour or supply company to transmit power, water, sewage,

Solicitors approval clauses.

Introduction:

Solicitors approval clauses are often included in agreements for sale and purchase when they need to be signed in a hurry and one party’s lawyer is not available to talk to them first. Many people mistakenly believe that the clause means either that there is no contract until approval is given, or that the lawyer can consider all aspects of the proposed sale and all of the terms of the agreement when deciding whether to give approval. Unless the clause is carefully worded, that is not correct. The standard solicitors approval clause only gives