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Public Works Act 1981

Acquisition of land for public works - Compulsory acquisition of land

23: Notice of intention to take land

You could also call this:

“Notice telling you the government wants to use your land for a public project”

When the government or a local authority wants to take land for a public project, they need to follow these steps:

You will receive a notice if your land might be taken. This notice will be published in the Gazette and local newspapers. It will describe the land, explain what it will be used for, and why it’s needed.

The notice will tell you how long you have to object to your land being taken. You can make your objection to the Environment Court.

The government or local authority will also make a survey of the land and create a plan. They’ll try to find out who owns the land and put this information on the plan.

If your land is Māori land without a Land Transfer Act title, the plan will say that the owners’ names can be found at the Māori Land Court.

The notice to take your land is only valid for one year. After that, they must either take the land, confirm they still want to take it, or be in the middle of dealing with objections.

If they confirm they still want the land, they have two more years to actually take it.

If the notice expires, they have to wait at least six months before they can give you a new notice.

The notice will be registered against your land title. If they decide not to take your land, they’ll cancel this registration.

The government can’t use these rules to take protected Māori land for certain local projects.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM45793.

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"This rule about taking land for important projects no longer exists"

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Part 2 Acquisition of land for public works
Compulsory acquisition of land

23Notice of intention to take land

  1. When land (other than land owned by the Crown) is required to be taken for any public work, the Minister in the case of a Government work, and the local authority in the case of a local work, shall—

  2. cause a survey to be made and a plan to be prepared, and lodged with the Chief Surveyor, showing the land required to be taken and the names of the owners of the land so far as they can be ascertained; and
    1. cause a notice to be published in the Gazette and twice publicly notified giving—
      1. a general description of the land required to be taken (including the name of and number in the road or some other readily identifiable description of the place where the land is situated); and
        1. a description of the purpose for which the land is to be used; and
          1. the reasons why the taking of the land is considered reasonably necessary; and
            1. a period within which objections, other than objections by persons who are served with a copy of the notice under subsection (1)(c), may be made; and
            2. serve a notice on the owner of, and persons with a registered interest in, the land of the intention to take the land in the form set out in Schedule 1.

              1. If the land to be taken is within a project area under the Urban Development Act 2020, the Minister or local authority must not do anything described in subsection (1) without the consent of the responsible Minister within the meaning of section 9 of that Act.

              2. The provisions of this section requiring the names of the owners of the land to be shown on the plan of the land shall have no application in respect of any Maori land unless title to the land is registered under the Land Transfer Act 2017, but instead the plan shall be endorsed with the advice that the names of the owners may be obtained at the appropriate Maori Land Court.

              3. For the purposes of subsection (2), land that is registered with a qualified record of title is not land that is registered under the Land Transfer Act 2017.

              4. Every person having any estate or interest in the land intended to be taken may object to the taking of the land to the Environment Court in accordance with the provisions of the notice.

              5. Every notice of intention to take land given under this section shall, on the expiration of 1 year after the date of the publication in the Gazette of the notice, cease to have effect unless, on or before the expiration of that year,—

              6. a Proclamation taking the land has been published in the Gazette; or
                1. the Minister or the local authority has, by a further notice in writing served on the owner of the land, and persons with a registered interest in the land, intended to be taken, so far as they have been ascertained, confirmed the intention, subject to the provisions of this Act, of taking the land; or
                  1. the intention to take is the subject of any inquiry by the Environment Court or an Ombudsman, or of any application for a judicial review, in which case the notice of intention shall remain valid for 3 months after the date of the Environment Court's report or the date on which the Environment Court received written notice of the withdrawal of the objection, or the date of the completion of any inquiry by an Ombudsman, or the judicial decision, as the case may be.

                    1. Where the Minister or local authority has confirmed the intention of taking the land, the notice of intention so confirmed shall cease to have effect unless, on or before the expiration of 2 years after the date of such confirmation, a Proclamation taking the land has been published in the Gazette.

                    2. Where any such notice of intention given by the Minister or a local authority has so ceased to have effect, the notice shall not be repeated until at least 6 months after the date on which the original notice or the confirming notice, as the case may require, ceased to have effect.

                    3. A copy of the notice under subsection (1)(b) shall be lodged with the Registrar-General of Land and he shall register it without fee against the record of title affected.

                    4. Any notice under this section may be withdrawn by the Minister or local authority and, if it is withdrawn, a notice to that effect shall be lodged with the Registrar-General of Land who shall register it without fee against the title to the land.

                    5. No power in this section may be used to take protected Māori land for the purposes of a local SPV work.

                    Compare
                    • 1928 No 21 s 22
                    Notes
                    • Section 23(1): amended, on , by section 2(7) of the Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).
                    • Section 23(1)(b)(iii): amended, on , by section 7 of the Public Works Amendment Act (No 2) 1987 (1987 No 67).
                    • Section 23(1A): inserted, on , by section 300 of the Urban Development Act 2020 (2020 No 42).
                    • Section 23(2): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                    • Section 23(2A): inserted, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                    • Section 23(3): amended, on , pursuant to section 6(2)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).
                    • Section 23(4)(c): amended, on , pursuant to section 6(2)(a) of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 160).
                    • Section 23(7): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                    • Section 23(8): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
                    • Section 23(9): inserted, on , by section 161 of the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020 (2020 No 47).