DEFINING “FARM LAND”

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 124, 10 March 1950, Page 6

DEFINING “FARM LAND”

LAND SALES ACT PURPOSES (P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 9. What constituted “farm land” and who was to decide whether a transaction required the consent of a Land Valuation Committee was the question being asked of him by many interested parties, said the Minister of Lands (Mr E. B. Corbett) to-day. He said solicitors from various parts of New Zealand were asking what evidence a district land registrar would I’equire to satisfy himself- that land affected by a transfer or other disposition was not farm land as defined in the act and still subject to control by the Land Valuation Court.

The Registrar-General of Lands had already arranged to meet, the situation in a practical and inexpensive way, sai4 Mr Corbett, and had advised that officers of his department would in most cases be able to tell from the document itself whether land was likely to be subject to control*, but in cases of doubt they would be satisfied with a declaration from purchasers as to relevant facts. The district land registrar would decide whether, in his opinion, the land was “farm land,” and if a solicitor was in doubt whether any piece of land came within this definition he would naturally consult the district land registrar before settling the transaction. “If a party is dissatisfied with the decision of a district land registrar he can apply for a ruling from the Land Valuation Court,” the Minister added.