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Public Works Act 1981

Acquisition or taking of land for critical infrastructure projects - Compensation payable under this Part

39AAL: Circumstances in which compensation must not be paid under section 39AAK(2)(b) and (c)

You could also call this:

"When you won't get money for land the government takes"

Illustration for Public Works Act 1981

If you own land that the Minister or local authority wants to acquire, you might get compensation. But you will not get compensation under section 39AAK(2)(b) or section 39AAK(2)(c) unless you give them vacant possession of the land and all buildings on it. You have to do this on or before a certain date, or within a month after they ask you to vacate the land.

You also have to be a willing party to the acquisition, or not willing, for certain reasons. If the Minister or local authority asked you to agree to the acquisition, that is okay. But if you are not willing to sell, or you are willing only because they asked you, that is also okay.

If the land is being transferred for another public work, or if it is owned by a Crown body or a local authority, you will not get compensation under section 39AAK(2)(b) or (c). This also applies if the land is owned by a local authority and is being acquired by the Minister or another local authority.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1498111.

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Part 2AAcquisition or taking of land for critical infrastructure projects
Compensation payable under this Part

39AALCircumstances in which compensation must not be paid under section 39AAK(2)(b) and (c)

  1. Compensation must not be paid to an owner of land under section 39AAK(2)(b) unless the owner gives vacant possession of the land and all buildings and structures on the land to the Minister or local authority, as the case may be,—

  2. on or before the vacant possession date, or any later date that the Minister or local authority allows, if the land is acquired under an agreement that specifies a vacant possession date:
    1. within 1 month after the date on which the Minister or local authority serves notice on the vendor or person from whom the land is taken (as the case may be) that vacant possession is required, or within any longer period that the Minister or local authority allows, if—
      1. the land is acquired under an agreement that does not specify a vacant possession date; or
        1. no agreement for sale is entered into and the land is taken by Proclamation.

        2. Compensation must not be paid to an owner of land under section 39AAK(2)(c) unless that owner gives vacant possession of the land and all buildings and structures on the land to the Minister or local authority, as the case may be,—

        3. on or before the vacant possession date, or any later date that the Minister or local authority allows, if the land is acquired under an agreement that specifies a vacant possession date; or
          1. within 1 month after the date on which the Minister or local authority serves notice on the vendor or person from whom the land is taken (as the case may be) that vacant possession is required, or within any longer period that the Minister or local authority allows, if the land is acquired under an agreement that does not specify a vacant possession date.

            1. Compensation must not be paid to an owner of land under section 39AAK(2)(b) unless the owner—

            2. is not a willing party to the acquisition of the land; or
              1. is a willing party to the acquisition principally because the Minister or local authority, as the case may be, sought agreement with them to acquire the land under this Part.

                1. Compensation must not be paid to an owner of land under section 39AAK(2)(c) unless the owner is a willing party to the acquisition principally because the Minister or local authority, as the case may be, sought agreement with them to acquire the land under this Part.

                2. Compensation must not be paid to an owner of land under section 39AAK(2)(b) or (c) if the land is—

                3. transferred under section 50 for another public work that is a critical infrastructure project:
                  1. owned by a Crown body and acquired or taken by the Minister or a local authority:
                    1. owned by a local authority and acquired or taken by the Minister or another local authority.

                      Notes
                      • Section 39AAL: inserted, on , by section 5 of the Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 46).