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Land Transfer Act 2017
Land title and registration
Land title register
Registration and notation of instruments
23: Registration or notation of instrument created or executed by person not registered as owner of estate or interest

Part 1:
Preliminary provisions

3Purpose 4Land subject to this Act 5Interpretation 6Meaning of fraud 7Transitional, savings, and related provisions 8Act binds the Crown

Part 2:
Land title and registration

Land title register

9Registrar to keep register 10Purpose of register 11Contents of register

Title to land

51Title by registration 52Exceptions and limitations 53No title to public road or reserve unless authorised

Alteration of register in cases of manifest injustice

54Application to court for order for alteration of register 55Court may make order only in cases of manifest injustice 56Court must not make order if estate or interest transferred to third person 57Registration of order of court

Compensation

Grounds for compensation

58Compensation for loss or damage resulting from Registrar's error or from system failure 59Compensation for loss of estate or interest in land 60Compensation for loss or damage occurring after search and before registration 61Exceptions to compensation

Notice of claim

62Notice of claim

Consideration of claim

63Consideration of claim

Calculation of compensation for deprivation of estate or interest in land

64Maximum amount of compensation for deprivation of estate or interest in land 65Valuation of estate or interest in land and matters relating to onus of proof 66Improvements made to land 67Benefit obtained by claimant to be taken into account 68Court’s discretion to adjust compensation 69Contribution by claimant to loss 70Award of interest on compensation

Further provisions where compensation paid

71Right of subrogation 72Certain compensation recoverable by Crown as debt

Part 3:
Dealings in estates and interests in land

Transfers, transmissions, and vesting

Transfers of estates and interests

73Transfer of estates and interests 74Transfer of part of land in record of title 75Effect of transfer of leases and mortgages 76Life and other limited freehold estates

Tax statement required for registration of instrument to transfer some estates in land

77Interpretation 78Transferors and transferees must provide tax statement stating that transfer non-notifiable or providing tax information 79Content of tax statement 80Omissions and errors 81Offence to provide false or misleading tax information 82Chief executive must supply tax information to Commissioner of Inland Revenue 82AChief executive must supply tax information to Statistician 83Other provisions concerning use of tax information 84Certifier and chief executive must hold tax statement and provide copies 85Status of tax information 86Disclosure of information between authorised persons

Transmissions

87Transmission instrument required to register transmission 88Effect of registering transmission instrument

Vesting

89Vesting of land by court order 90Vesting of land by statute

Leases

91Lease instrument required to register lease 92Variation of leases 93Consent of registered mortgagee to variation of lease 94Surrender of lease 95Registration of interests on replacement lease 96Recording of interests when lessee acquires fee simple 97Covenant by or right for lessee to purchase fee simple estate 98Re-entry by lessor

Mortgages

99Mortgage takes effect only as security 100Mortgage instrument required to register mortgage 101Mortgage variation instrument required to vary mortgage 102Mortgage priority instrument required to vary priority of mortgages 103Transfer of mortgaged land by mortgagee sale 104Discharge of mortgage 105Court may order mortgage to be discharged if mortgagee's remedies barred by Limitation Act 2010 106Discharge of mortgage securing annuity or rentcharge

Easements, profits à prendre, and covenants under Property Law Act 2007

Easements and profits à prendre

107Interpretation 108Registration and surrender of easements and profits à prendre 109Easement instruments 110Creation or surrender of easement on deposit of plan 111Rights and powers implied in easements 112Easement variation instrument required to vary easements and profits à prendre 113Merger, and extinguishment through lapse of time, of easements and profits à prendre 114Extinguishment of easements and profits à prendre on occurrence of event 115Redundant easements

Notation of covenants under Property Law Act 2007

116Notation of covenants under Property Law Act 2007

Statutory land charges

117Application of this subpart 118Registration of charge 119Priority of charge 120Release of charge 121Protection of Registrar

Flat and office owning companies

122Interpretation 123Issue of share certificates 124Registration of licence to occupy 125Registrar may require plan 126Effect of registration of licence 127Registration of instruments against licence 128Mortgage of licence 129Rights of mortgagee of registered licence 130Restriction on disposal of licence or shares if licence subject to mortgage 131Restrictions on cancellation, etc, of licence subject to registered mortgage 132Registration of cancellation, etc, of licence 133Surrender of licence 134Bringing down of mortgage on new licence 135Priority of replacement mortgage over land of company 136Exercise of power of sale by mortgagee of licence 137Registration of transfer of licence or new licence by Registrar

Caveats

Registrar's caveats

149Registrar may lodge caveat 150Notice of caveat 151Effect of Registrar's caveat 152Registrar may withdraw caveat

Trusts

153Trusts not to be entered on register 154Trusts of reserves

Part 4:
Miscellaneous applications and other matters

Applications for title based on adverse possession

155Application for record of title based on adverse possession 156Information relating to land 157Incapacity of registered owner 158Minors 159Certain applications prohibited 160Evidence 161Notice of application 162Caveats against application 163Notice of caveat 164Caveat by registered owner of fee simple or other freehold estate 165Caveat by beneficial or equitable owner of fee simple or other freehold estate 166Caveat by registered owner of, or person noted as entitled to, other estate or interest 167Caveat by other person entitled to other estate or interest 168Registration of applicant as owner of freehold estate 169Cancellation of record of title 170Application relating to land of dissolved company

Applications to bring land under Act

171Land to which this subpart applies 172Applications to bring land under Act 173Notice of application 174Caveat against bringing land under Act 175Effect of caveat 176Notice of caveat 177Procedure where caveat lodged under section 174(1)(a)178Procedure where caveat lodged under section 174(1)(b)179Registrar may require instrument creating or recording estate or interest of caveator 180Withdrawal of application 181Registration of applicant 182Cancellation of previous documents of title 183Registration of Crown grant under Deeds Registration Act 1908 unnecessary

Title to access strips

184Meaning of access strip 185Application by adjoining owners for title to access strip 186Notice of application 187Caveats against application 188Notice of caveat 189Removal of caveat 190Procedure where caveat lodged 191Owner of access strip who is not adjoining owner 192Adjoining owner with interest in access strip who is not applicant 193Adjoining owner with no interest in access strip who is not applicant 194Record of title for access strip 195Provisions applying when record of title created for access strip

Limited certificates of title

196Purpose of this subpart 197Meaning of limited certificate of title 198Registrar's minutes 199Record of title to indicate limitations 200Effect of limited record of title 201Removal of limitations from limited record of title 202Further restriction on removal of limitation from limited record of title limited as to parcels 203Other estates and interests subject to limitation 204Applications by persons claiming title to land for which there is limited record of title 205Certain interests extinguished 206Status of caveats lodged under section 205(1) of Land Transfer Act 1952 207Caveats against limited record of title limited as to parcels

Part 5:
Miscellaneous provisions

General provisions

Covenants implied in instruments

208Implied covenants requiring persons to give effect to instruments

Provisions incorporated in instruments by reference

209Incorporation in instruments of provisions in memorandum

Instruments under this Act that may be used under other Acts

210Instruments under this Act may be used under other Acts

Powers of attorney

211Registered owner may deal with estate or interest by attorney 212Deposit of power of attorney 213Notice of revocation of power of attorney

Review and appeal

214Review by Registrar of decision 215Appeal to court

Application to court by Registrar

216Registrar may apply to court for directions

Notice to Registrar of proceedings

217Notice to Registrar of proceedings

Offences

218Offences in relation to registration 219False statements

Notices

220Public notice 221Giving of notice to persons other than Registrar 222Notice to Registrar 223When notices given

Plans

224Registrar may require plans 225Registrar may specify form of deposit document 226Cost of survey to correct plans

Regulations

227Regulations 228Regulations providing for transitional matters

Fees and charges

229Fees and charges

Land registration districts

230Land registration districts

Registrar-General of Land

231Registrar-General of Land 232Seal of office 233Delegation of Registrar's functions, duties, and powers 234Registrar not required to give certain evidence 235Registrar and other persons not personally liable 236Registrar may set standards and issue directives

Amendments, repeals, and revocations

Amendments to Property Law Act 2007

237Amendments to Property Law Act 2007 238Section 4 amended (Interpretation)239New cross-heading above section 301 inserted 240Section 304 amended (Whether, and to what extent, administrator bound by covenant to which section 303 applies)241Section 306 amended (Certain duties under, and law on, restrictive covenants not limited or affected by section 303)242New sections 307A to 307F and cross-heading inserted 243Cross-heading above section 308 amended 244Cross-heading above section 313 amended 245Section 317 amended (Court may modify or extinguish easement or covenant)246New sections 318A to 318E and cross-heading inserted 247Amendments to Building Act 2004

Repeals and revocations

248Land Transfer Act 1952 and Statutory Land Charges Registration Act 1928 repealed 249Regulations and orders revoked

Amendments to other enactments

250Amendments to other enactments

Schedule 1:
Transitional, savings, and related provisions

Schedule 2:
Consequential amendments

Summary of changes

Land Transfer Act 2017

Land title and registration - Land title register - Registration and notation of instruments

23: Registration or notation of instrument created or executed by person not registered as owner of estate or interest

You could also call this:

"Registering documents made by someone not listed as the owner"

You can register or note an instrument even if the person who created or executed it was not registered as the owner of the estate or interest at the time. This is allowed under the law. You can find similar information in s 76.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6731136.

This page was last updated on 24 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

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22: Registration or notation of instrument, or

"How to officially record important land documents"

24: Effect of registration, or

"What happens to land ownership when a document is registered"

Part 2Land title and registration
Land title register: Registration and notation of instruments

23Registration or notation of instrument created or executed by person not registered as owner of estate or interest

An instrument may be registered or noted despite the fact that, at the time the instrument was created or executed, a person named in the instrument was not registered as the owner of the estate or interest to which the instrument relates.

Compare

s 76