Investing in New Zealand

Residential Land

When anyone is purchasing certain land in New Zealand, there are procedures to follow to determine whether or not consent from the New Zealand government is needed. The Overseas Investment Office administers New Zealand’s overseas investment laws. From 22 October, 2018, these rules changed to include most residential and lifestyle properties. In general, overseas people who are not residents, cannot buy homes to live in, but other investment opportunities are available.

Your Property Brokers real estate salesperson will help you through this process. There are also some useful sites to visit that will help you find out if you need consent to invest in New Zealand.

QV: Search the property of interest to see if it is categorized as either ‘residential’ or ‘lifestyle’ for the purposes of the District Valuation Roll. If it is, it is deemed to be ‘residential’ for OIO purposes (you will find the category code listed under ‘Building Type. Some local councils also provide this information). This includes most houses, flats and apartments, however there are also fairly large lifestyle blocks that are considered residential. Bear in mind that it could also be sensitive land for other reasons, in which case different rules apply.

New Zealand Now: is a great place to start. Use this tool to understand if you are able to buy.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ): has a lot of information so that you can find out more about the Overseas Investment Office requirements and apply for consent if you need it.

Residential Land Statement

From 22 October 2018, everyone buying residential and lifestyle land needs to state whether the transaction requires consent – this applies to New Zealanders as well, not just overseas people.

A Residential Land Statement will need to be completed, with your solicitor or conveyancer, to determine whether consent is required. It is an offence to provide a false statement or enter into an unconditional agreement without required consent. Talk to your Property Brokers salesperson about the Residential Land Statement.

It is important to understand the requirements early on in the buying process. You are advised to seek legal advice as soon as possible, especially if you think that consent is required, as it can be a very lengthy and costly process.

Useful resources:

Overseas Investment Office (OIO) - Form 51A Residential Land Statement

Overseas Investment Office (OIO) - Investing in New Zealand

Overseas Investment Office (OIO) - Right to buy residential land in NZ

Sensitive Land

In some cases, land will be residential, but also sensitive for another reason, such as adjoining water or next to a lake or reserve. In those cases, the complexity and cost involved is greatly increased, along with tests requiring the knowledge of a specialist property lawyer (see Applying for consent to purchase New Zealand assets).

Table 1

Land is sensitive if it is or includes a type of land listed in Table 1 and that type exceeds the area threshold.

Description	Threshold

Non-urban land	5 ha

Land on islands specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 in the OIA 2005	0.4 ha

Land on other islands (other than North or South Island, but including the islands adjacent to the North or South Island)	0 ha

Foreshore or seabed	0 ha

Bed of a lake	0.4 ha

Land held for conservation purposes under the Conservation Act 1987	0.4 ha

Land that a district plan or proposed district plan under the Resource Management Act 1991 provides is to be used as a reserve, as a public park, for recreation purposes, or as open space	0.4 ha

Land over 0.4 hectares that is subject to a heritage order, or a requirement for a heritage order, under the Resource Management Act 1991 or by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014	0.4 ha

A historic place, historic area, wahi tapu, or wahi tapu area that is registered or for which there is an application or proposal forregistration under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014	0.4 ha

Table 2

Land is sensitive if it adjoins a type of land listed in Table 2 and exceeds the area threshold.

Description	Threshold

Foreshore	0.2 ha

Bed of a lake	0.4 ha

Land held for conservation purposes under the Conservation Act 1987 (if that conservation land exceeds 0.4 hectares in area)	0.4 ha

Any scientific, scenic, historic, or nature reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 that is administered by the Department of Conservation and that exceeds 0.4 hectares in area	0.4 ha

Any regional park created under the Local Government Act 1974	0.4 ha

Land that is listed, or in a class listed, as a reserve, a public park, or other sensitive area by the regulator under section 37	0.4 ha

Land that adjoins the sea or a lake and exceeds 0.4 hectares and is 1 of the following types of land: an esplanade reserve or esplanade strip (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Resource Management Act 1991); or a recreation reserve under the Reserves Act 1977; or a road (as defined in section 315(1) of the Local Government Act 1974); or a Māori reservation to which section 340 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 applies	0.4 ha

Land over 0.4 hectares that is subject to a heritage order, or a requirement for a heritage order, under the Resource Management Act 1991 or by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014	0.4 ha

Land over 0.4 hectares that includes a historic place, historic area, wahi tapu, or wahi tapu area that is registered or for which there is an application or proposal for registration under the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014	0.4 ha