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225: Agreement to sell land or building before deposit of plan
or “You can agree to sell land or a building before the survey plan is officially registered, but there are rules to protect buyers.”
You could also call this:

“Rules for creating official property records when land is divided into smaller pieces”

The Registrar-General of Land can’t give you a record of title for land shown as a separate allotment on a survey plan unless certain conditions are met. These conditions include:

The plan has been properly deposited or approved according to specific sections of the law.

The plan has been approved under certain parts of older laws like the Municipal Corporations Act 1954 or the Counties Amendment Act 1961.

The plan has been deposited according to the Unit Titles Act 2010.

The record of title is being issued to follow through on an agreement made before this law came into effect.

The local council has certified that the allotment follows the rules of the district plan or proposed district plan.

These rules don’t apply to issuing a record of title under section 11 of this Act.

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Next up: 226A: Savings in respect of cross leases, company leases, and retirement village leases

or “This law protects certain old leases from new rules about land plans.”
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Part 10 Subdivision and reclamations
Approval and deposit of survey plans

226Restrictions upon issue of certificates of title for subdivision

  1. The Registrar-General of Land shall not issue a record of title for any land that is shown as a separate allotment on a survey plan (being a record of title issued to give effect to the subdivision shown on that survey plan), unless he or she is satisfied, after due inquiry, that—

  2. the plan has been deposited in accordance with section 224 or has been approved by the Chief Surveyor for the purposes of section 228 and the provisions of section 228(2) have been complied with; or
    1. the plan has been deposited in accordance with section 306 of the Local Government Act 1974 or was a Crown plan to which section 306(7) of the Local Government Act 1974 applied; or
      1. the plan has been approved under Part 25 of the Municipal Corporations Act 1954; or
        1. the plan has been approved under Part 2 of the Counties Amendment Act 1961; or
          1. the plan did not require the approval of the Council under Part 2 of the Counties Amendment Act 1961 and was deposited under the Land Transfer Act 2017 after the said Part 2 came into force; or
            1. the plan has been deposited in accordance with the Unit Titles Act 2010; or
              1. the record of title is issued to enable effect to be given to any agreement for sale and purchase or agreement to lease or other contract to create an interest in land or a building or part of a building made before the commencement of this Act; or
                1. the territorial authority has given a certificate signed by the principal administrative officer or other authorised officer to the effect—
                  1. that there is no district plan for the area to which the survey plan relates, and that the allotment is in accordance with the requirements and provisions of the proposed district plan; or
                    1. that the allotment is in accordance with the requirements and provisions of the district plan and the proposed district plan (if any) for the area to which the survey plan relates; or
                      1. that the allotment is in accordance with a permission or permissions granted under Part 2 or Part 4 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1977.

                      2. Nothing in section 11 shall apply to the issue of a record of title pursuant to subsection (1).

                      Notes
                      • Section 226 heading: amended, on , by section 120 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                      • Section 226(1): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                      • Section 226(1): amended, on , by section 150 of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).
                      • Section 226(1)(ba): inserted, on , by section 120 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                      • Section 226(1)(bb): inserted, on , by section 120 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                      • Section 226(1)(bc): inserted, on , by section 120 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
                      • Section 226(1)(bc): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                      • Section 226(1)(c): amended, on , by section 233(1) of the Unit Titles Act 2010 (2010 No 22).
                      • Section 226(1)(d): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                      • Section 226(1)(e): amended, on , by section 72 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 23).
                      • Section 226(2): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).