THE LEASE IN PERPETUITY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9153, 27 July 1906, Page 5

THE LEASE IN PERPETUITY.

The Nietw Zealand Times publishes an explanation or a reply in reference to an article which appeared in the Stab, upon the matter of a transfer of a lease, on the j Tokaora estate. It says: — The law on the question of transfers of sections under €he Land or Settlements Act is clear and concise, giving the Land Boards unrestricted power of vetoing or granting -transfens. Nor is it necessary, or usual, for the Board to state its teasons for refusing to grant an application for a transfer. It merely states that it does or does not approve the transfer, and there the matter ends, there being no ap- ! peal. Section 83 of the Land Act of 1892, which governs the transferring of leases, provides that every lease of license shall be prepared by the Commissioner, and shall contain such covenants or conditions or agreements consistent with the I general provisions of the Act as the Board may prescribe. A lessee may transfer his interest "wibh the sanction of the Board but not otherwise." Further, it is provided that before any transfer is sanctioned by the Board that body may j require the transferor to make certain statutory declarations, and "to declare to such other particulars -respecting the land j as they shall think fit." These conditions give the Boards, if they care to exercise it, the right, to examine into all the circumstances of a transfer, and i.« is beyond question that if they choose to refuse a transfer for any reason whatever, they may do so, and cannot be called upon to state their reasons. If, therefore, the price to be paid for the | goodwill seems to the Board to be excessive, it may simply irefuse to sanction the transfer without telling the parties the reason for such refusal. If, on the otheT hand, a Board should consider the price paid ifor the goodwill excessive, and should intimate to the parties that the transfer will not be granted on that account, it is open to the parties to arrange for a transfer at a reduced; figure, and, the Board in such a case might consider itself obliged to allow the transfer under the new terms. This would, of course, open the door to abuse by encouraging parties to a transfer to stipulate in the document for a much lower price to be paid for the goodwill than was actually intended, the balance of the money being paid over under some separate instrument. And the only result of this would be to job the Land Transfer Office of its proper fees. The powers of a Board to refuse a transf ear being in no way defined or limited/ it can scarcely be held tliafc bhe, Boaivl may not refuse a transfer on the ground that the consideration to be paid by the transferor is too great. The Taranaki Board, had' full power under the Act to refuse the Tokaora transfer on the ground that the goodwill was too highly valued, or for any other .reason that it liked, but it weakened its position by stating unnecessarily, the reason for objecting to the transfer and accepting a modification of the conditions of the transfer. In this if might be said to have acted rather in the interests of the parties than otherwise, since it could have refused the application) because the goodwill was too highly valued, without giving the parties an opportunity of coming to an understanding to get over the difficulty. The Wellington Board, it may be stated, takes no cognisance of the price which is to be paid for the goodwill. AH it is concerned with is whether the conditions of the lease have been fulfilled, and whether, the incoming tenant is a fit and proper person to carry on the work. The Amending Act of ±901 contains a clause prohibiting tihe transfer of a section under the Land for Settlemente Act within a period of five years from the date of the lease, except in the case of the death oi the lease, or on the Happening of any extraordinary event which in the opinion of the Land Board renders a transiI fer necessary or expedient."