Property
Land Transfer Act 2017 Torrens title with a two-year bright-line test
Torrens title under the Land Transfer Act 2017 with electronic conveyancing, restrictions on foreign buyers of residential land, and a bright-line test taxing short-term residential gains.
Key rules
- Deadline — Bright-line test: residential land sold within two years of acquisition is taxable (reduced from ten years with effect from 1 July 2024)
Governing law
- Land Transfer Act 2017 (s. 51)
- Overseas Investment Act 2005
- Unit Titles Act 2010
- Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993Māori Land Act
In practice
Registration confers indefeasible title, and conveyancing is fully electronic through Landonline, so settlement is typically same-day. Since 2018 residential land is classified as sensitive under the Overseas Investment Act, and overseas persons generally cannot buy existing homes — Australian and Singaporean citizens are exempt by treaty. Māori freehold land is governed by Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 and administered by the Māori Land Court; it is subject to alienation restrictions and preferred classes of alienee designed to keep land within the owners' whānau, so it cannot be dealt with as ordinary freehold.