Basic do-it-yourself for searching the title

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 31

Basic do-it-yourself for searching the title

In the face of rising costs — including professional fees — more and more people are seeking ways to keep expenses down, especially in setting up a new home.

Conveyancing is one area often questioned.

The Real Estate Institute’s policy on conveyanc-. ing — which includes all of the events which have to take place legally before the title is transferred from one owner to the other — is that the complexities are best left to lawyers.

There is one area, however, which property buyers can take care of themselves, if they wish — searching the’ title.

Of all the questions asked about conveyancing, how to search the title is the most frequent. All privately owned land in New Zealand is subject to the Land Transfer Act 1952 and its amendments. The act lays out the method of recording a title to land and gives a guarantee of title by the state. The certificate of title to a parcel of land is the basic record of transactions concerning the land. The information it gives includes the legal description and diagram of the land, all owners past and present and a summary of any legal documents con-

ceming the land. Documents listed on the certificate of title may include mortgages, leases, various types of charges, rights and restrictions which effect the land in some way. For instance, the land could be subject to rights, and obligations such as right-of-way, drainage, power and telephone. Another person or group may have an interest in the land, which could be monetary, or it may involve conditions or restrictions regarding the use of or building on the land.

Certificates of title and the documents listed on them are held in the Land Registry Office in the district where the land is situated, and it is open to public search.

To obtain a copy of the certificate of title you need to know the certificate of title number. This is generally shown on a rate demand, or it is obtainable from the indexes held in the search room of the registry office.

If you know the legal description of the land (this is always shown on a rate demand), then the certificate of title number is easy to find.

The legal description will be written in one of several ways, depending on whether the land is part of a rural survey district, or Maori land, and so on, and this will tell you which index to use to obtain the certificate of title number.

The types of index include a deposited plan index (D.P.) which would be written as: Lot 2 D.P. 5134. This index lists deposited plans in numerical order and the lots they' contain. Besides each lot number is the certificate of title number.

the township index would be written as: Section 21, Manutahi township. This alphabetical index is of settlements and subdivisions in rural areas and city outskirts. The certificate of title number is noted against each section. The rural index is an alphabetical and numerical list, and would be written as: Section 22 Block R Punawhaka Survey District. Similarly, the Maori index (e.g. Taumatangi DA) is both alphabetical and numerical. In a few cases, the naming of land blocks dates back to very early times. For instance, in the Auckland district office, there is a parish index, and a grants index The Nelson district office has a squares index while several offices have a district index.

A copy of the certifies!

of title can now be obtained by using the reference number on the application form at the counter.

The available copy of the certificate of title will be the current one for the piece of land being searched. Its number (for instance Volume 324, folio 223, or 16J/1234) will be recorded at the top righthand comer. You should check that the information is clear because, until 1961, titles were not drawn up in a manner that made photocopying easy. Colour was used on diagrams, much of the information was hand written and the paper used was larger, which made the diagram on the reduced copy not to the stated scale. As well as this, street names were sometimes changed.

The current certificate of title may be all that you want; however, there will probably be other certificates oi title which refer to the land.

The previous title may be filled up necessitating the need for a current one, or

the land may have been part of a larger block before part was sold or subdivided.

Thus, it is possible to trace the history of a piece of land back many decades by searching the previously cancelled, or part cancelled certificates of title. The reference shown at the top left-hand comer of the current title is that of the previous title. You may wish to inspect some or all of the documents listed on the certificate of title. These are available in the documents room of the Land Registry Office. Each document listed on the certificate of title shows the nature and number of the document. These documents (for instance, Transfer 167654; Morgage 213453.1; and Lien 452137.1)’ will be made available on request. There are a number of other sources of information. The land Registry Office is concerned only with the title to land and the documents which are summarised on the certificate of title.

Depending on the purpose of your search, you may also check the Lands and Survey offices which hold a variety of maps and plans. Local council offices have information on planning restrictions, zoning, building requirements, drainage rights, any outstanding rates, land tax and so on. The Valuation Department holds data concerning land use and government valuation.