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197: Compulsory acquisition powers
or “Explains how the government can take over land to protect important historical places”
You could also call this:

“The court can decide if land with special rules can be sold or taken for public use if the owner can't use it normally.”

If you own land that has a heritage order or requirement placed on it, you can ask the Environment Court for help. You can do this if you owned the land when the order was made, you’ve tried to sell it for a fair price but couldn’t, and the order makes it hard to use your land normally.

If this happens, the Environment Court might tell the authority in charge of the heritage order to either remove the order or buy your land. Before making a decision, the court might ask you to try selling your land again.

If the court decides the authority should buy your land, it’s treated like you agreed to sell it to them. This uses rules from a law called the Public Works Act 1981.

Sometimes, the authority isn’t the government or a local council. In these cases, the Minister for Land Information acts like they’re buying the land for the government. The authority has to pay back all the costs to the government.

When deciding how much your land is worth, they’ll work it out as if the heritage order wasn’t there. This means you should get a fair price for your land.

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Next up: 198AA: Time limits from which time periods are excluded in relation to designations and heritage orders

or “Rules for pausing time limits when dealing with special land protections”
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Part 8 Designations and heritage orders
Heritage orders

198Environment Court may order land taken, etc

  1. Upon application made to the Environment Court by the owner of an estate or interest in land (including a leasehold estate or interest) that is subject to a heritage order, or requirement under section 189 or section 189A, if the court is satisfied that—

  2. the applicant was the owner or spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner of the owner on the date when the heritage order was included in the district plan or the requirement was made; and
    1. the applicant has tried but been unable to enter into an agreement for the sale of the estate or interest in the land subject to the heritage order or requirement at a price not less than the market value the land would have had if it were not subject to the heritage order or requirement; and
      1. the heritage order or requirement renders or will render the land in respect of which it applies, incapable of reasonable use,—
          1. the Environment Court may make an order giving the heritage protection authority the option of either withdrawing the requirement or causing the heritage order to be removed, as the case may be, or taking the land under the Public Works Act 1981.

        1. Before making an order under subsection (1), the court may direct the owner to take further action to try to sell the estate or interest in the land.

        2. If the court makes an order to take an estate or interest in land under the Public Works Act 1981, the owner of the land shall be deemed to have entered into an agreement with the heritage protection authority responsible for the heritage order or requirement for the purposes of section 17 of the Public Works Act 1981.

        3. Where subsection (3) applies in respect of a heritage protection authority that is neither the Crown nor a local authority—

        4. any agreement shall be deemed to have been entered into with the Minister for Land Information on behalf of the heritage protection authority as if the land were required for a government work; and
          1. all costs and expenses incurred by the Minister for Land Information in respect of the acquisition of the land shall be recoverable from the heritage protection authority as a debt due to the Crown.

            1. The amount of compensation payable for an estate or interest in land ordered to be taken under this section shall be assessed as if the heritage order or requirement had not been made.

            Notes
            • Section 198 heading: amended, on , pursuant to section 6(2)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).
            • Section 198(1): amended, on , pursuant to section 6(2)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).
            • Section 198(1): amended, on , by section 109 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
            • Section 198(1)(a): amended, on , by section 7 of the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3).
            • Section 198(2): amended, on , pursuant to section 6(2)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).
            • Section 198(3): amended, on , pursuant to section 6(2)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).
            • Section 198(4)(a): amended, on , pursuant to section 2(1) of the Survey Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 55).
            • Section 198(4)(b): amended, on , pursuant to section 2(1) of the Survey Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 55).