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Public Works Act 1981

Legalisation, stopping, and exchanging of roads

120: Registration

You could also call this:

“Recording changes to land ownership and use in official documents”

When dealing with land under this part of the law, you need to follow the rules in sections 57 and 58. If a road is being stopped, the Registrar-General of Land will make a note of this on the land’s record of title when they receive the proper notice and plans.

If land is being joined with another piece of land, the notice will say so. This means the land will belong to whoever owns the land it’s being joined with. The Registrar-General of Land will then issue a new record of title for free.

If the land is part of a joint family home, the notice will say so. This means the new land will become part of the joint family home too.

If land is being added to a lease or licence, the Registrar-General of Land will make a note of this on the record of title for free when they get the right notice.

Once a notice is published in the Gazette (the government’s official newsletter), it means all the rules have been followed. You don’t need to check if everyone has agreed or if all the conditions have been met.

If someone has an interest in the land (like a mortgage), but isn’t the owner or renter, the Minister can say it’s okay to go ahead without their agreement if it won’t hurt their interests.

If land with a mortgage or other interest is made into a road, and other land is given in exchange, the new land will usually have the same mortgage or interest on it. The Registrar-General of Land will make a note of this on the new record of title.

If land with any special rules or limits is made into a road, and other land is given in exchange, the new land will usually have the same special rules or limits, unless the Minister says otherwise.

These rules also apply when land is taken under section 119(3).

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM47333.

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Part 8 Legalisation, stopping, and exchanging of roads

120Registration

  1. The provisions of sections 57 and 58 shall apply in respect of dealings in land under this Part.

  2. On the presentation to him of a copy of any notice stopping any road under this Part, together with a copy of the plan or plans referred to in it, the Registrar-General of Land must note the stopping on the appropriate record of title.

  3. The recital in any notice under this Part of the record of title for any parcel of land with which any land referred to in the notice is to be amalgamated in one record of title shall have the effect of vesting that land in the registered owner or owners for the time being of the land comprised in that record of title for an estate in fee simple in possession, and shall be sufficient authority to the Registrar-General of Land to issue such record of title, without fee.

  4. Notwithstanding anything in the Joint Family Homes Act 1964, the recital in any notice under this Part that any registered owner to whom subsection (3) applies is the settlor of any adjoining land as a joint family home under that Act, shall be deemed to be a sufficient application to the Registrar-General of Land to settle the additional land acquired under the notice as part of the joint family home under section 4 of that Act, and the provisions of that Act shall apply accordingly.

  5. The recital in any notice under this Part, or a certificate under the hand of the Commissioner of Crown Lands appointed under section 12A of the Survey Act 1986, that any land is to be incorporated in any lease or licence pursuant to this Part shall be sufficient authority to the Registrar-General of Land to make an appropriate entry without fee on any relevant record of title.

  6. The publication in the Gazette of any notice purporting to be issued under this Part shall be conclusive evidence that all conditions precedent to the issue of the notice have been complied with, and no person shall be concerned to inquire whether any consent has been given or other condition attaching to the issue of the notice has been fulfilled.

  7. The consent of any person having a registered interest in any land in respect of which a notice is proposed to be issued under this Part or having an interest in it disclosed by a register under the Land Transfer Act 2017 or the Deeds Registration Act 1908, but not being the owner or the lessee or licensee of the land, may be dispensed with in any case if the Minister certifies that the interest of that person will not be prejudicially affected by the issue of such a notice.

  8. Where, in any case to which section 117(6) does not apply, any land that is subject to any registered encumbrance, lien, or interest is declared road with the consent under paragraph (b), or paragraph (c), or paragraph (i) of section 114(2) of the owner or body or persons in whom the land or its control is vested and with the consent of the person entitled to the registered encumbrance, lien, or interest, and other land is vested or otherwise disposed of in exchange for it, then, unless the notice otherwise directs, the other land shall be granted or disposed of subject to that registered encumbrance, lien, or interest.

  9. On the issue of a record of title for any land vested or otherwise disposed of in exchange so subject to any registered encumbrance, lien, or interest, every instrument creating or evidencing or affecting that encumbrance, lien, or interest, and all covenants and other provisions expressed or implied in it, shall be construed as if the land so granted or disposed of were the land or, as the case may be, part of the land to which the instrument relates.

  10. On the issue of a record of title for any land vested or otherwise disposed of in exchange so subject to any registered encumbrance, lien, or interest, the Registrar-General of Land must enter on the register a memorial setting out the effect in the circumstances of subsection (9).

  11. Where any land that is subject to any reservation or restriction is declared road and any other land is vested or otherwise disposed of in exchange for it under this Part, then, unless in any case the Minister otherwise directs, the other land shall be vested or disposed of subject to that reservation or restriction or such other reservations or restrictions as the Minister directs.

  12. The provisions of subsections (8) to (11) shall apply in respect of consents under section 119(3) to the taking of any land under that section as if they were consents under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) or paragraph (i) of section 114(2) to the declaration of the land as road.

Compare
  • 1948 No 39 s 29(7)–(11), (13)–(17)
Notes
  • Section 120(2): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
  • Section 120(3): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
  • Section 120(4): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
  • Section 120(5): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
  • Section 120(5): amended, on , pursuant to section 9(2) of the Survey Amendment Act (No 3) 1989 (1989 No 139).
  • Section 120(7): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
  • Section 120(9): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).
  • Section 120(10): amended, on , by section 250 of the Land Transfer Act 2017 (2017 No 30).