Land Transfer Act 2017

Miscellaneous applications and other matters - Applications for title based on adverse possession

170: Application relating to land of dissolved company

You could also call this:

"Applying for land that used to belong to a company that no longer exists"

You are dealing with land that a company used to own, but the company does not exist anymore. The land now belongs to the Crown because it has no owner. You need to follow some rules when you make an application about this land. You cannot proceed with your application unless the Crown has given up its claim to the land or the Secretary to the Treasury agrees to your application. This is because the Crown might be able to give up its claim under a law, such as the Companies Act 1993, or it might not be able to. If someone wants to start a court case to become the owner of the land or to restart the company, the Registrar will tell them that you have made an application. The Registrar will wait to see if the court case happens before deciding what to do with your application. If the court case does happen, the Registrar will only proceed with your application if the case is dismissed or stopped. If the court case does not happen, the Registrar will proceed with your application.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6731361.

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

Topics:

Housing and property > Land useHousing and property > Buying and selling homesBusiness > Industry rules

169: Cancellation of record of title, or

"Removing an old land ownership record and replacing it with a new one"

171: Land to which this subpart applies, or

"Land that is not covered by the Land Transfer Act"

Part 4Miscellaneous applications and other matters
Applications for title based on adverse possession

170Application relating to land of dissolved company

This section applies to an application that relates to a freehold estate—
the registered owner of which was a company or any other body corporate that has ceased to exist; and
that vests in the Crown as ownerless property.

The Registrar must not proceed with the application unless,—
if the Crown is entitled under an enactment to disclaim the estate,—
1. the Crown has disclaimed the estate; and
2. the Registrar is satisfied that no proceedings have been commenced in a court by a person to become the registered owner of the estate or to restore the company to the companies register under the Companies Act 1993; or
if the Crown is not entitled under an enactment to disclaim the estate, the Secretary to the Treasury consents to the application.

If the Registrar knows that a person intends to commence proceedings referred to in subsection (2)(a)(ii), the Registrar must give notice to that person that the application has been made and will proceed unless proceedings are commenced within the time specified in the notice.
If proceedings are commenced within the time specified in the notice, or within any extension allowed by the Registrar, the Registrar may proceed with the application only if—
the proceedings are dismissed or discontinued; or
an appeal against the dismissal of the proceedings is dismissed or discontinued.

If proceedings are not commenced within the time specified in the notice, or within any extension allowed by the Registrar, the Registrar must proceed with the application.

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