Articles

It is in a Landlord's best interest to protect their investment and make sure any exposure to loss from a dodgy Tenant is minimised.  All too often we hear of stories involving a Landlord being duped by a Tenant for whatever reason.  Perhaps the Tenant becomes unable to pay its rent and rather than seeking out the Landlord and dealing with the situation head on, the Tenant allows its financial problems to continue until it is too late.  By this time the Landlord is often owed money in rental and outgoings arrears and in the more extreme circumstances can be left with a vacant property needing to be re-tenanted urgently. Read more

Unfortunately situations where Tenants are unable to pay rent on their leased commercial premises happens all too often.  As a commercial property Landlord, knowing your rights and what to do if this situation arises will help minimise your losses. Read more

Buying a new build "House and Land" package has become a popular option for many first home buyers.  It can involve a deposit lower than 20% of purchase price (depending on finance), and means you have the time it takes to build to keep saving towards the purchase of your new home. Read more

It is the old adage, nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. Death, however, often comes as a shock, not so much to the person who actually dies but to the family left behind to try and sort out the “estate” and what the deceased really wanted to happen with her antique dolls-house collection …  Read more

"Trust busting" is the term given to an attempt made to penetrate a Trust structure and have assets held by the Trust declared by the Courts to be owned personally by an individual. The implication of Trust assets being found to be owned personally is that these assets then become part of an individual's net worth and are an available "property pool" to former spouses/partners or creditors with valid claims against the individual.  Read more

Looking at buying or selling a cross lease property? One of the most common issues plaguing cross lease properties throughout New Zealand is the likelihood the flats plan (which is meant to show the boundary lines of the house, garage etc) is out-of-date and has not been updated following structural additions or improvements. The reason: it's not, strictly speaking, necessary from Council's perspective, and building consent may be granted without any reference or requirement to update the property's flats plan. The flow-on effect from this is the flats plan (which is attached to the certificate of title) is "defective", arguably giving a purchaser the right to pull out of an otherwise unconditional sale and purchase agreement.  Read more

Purchasers of commercial property should undertake an exhaustive review of each potential purchase before declaring an agreement unconditional. This review should be undertaken in consultation with your lawyer, accountant, property manager, building inspector, lender, and otherwise as appropriate. Read more

Gift duty was abolished from 1 October 2011 and while the legislative change itself is simple, it has surprisingly complex consequences. The abolition of gift duty has made it possible for individuals to gift assets directly to a trust and it is likely this practice will supplant the former method of selling property to a trust with a gift back. Read more

The Property Law Act 2007 ("PLA") codifies – very strictly – the process and means by which a commercial tenant may be evicted for non-payment of rent or some other breach of its lease obligations. Whether you are the landlord or the tenant,it is critical you understand your rights and obligations in an eviction scenario.  Read more

The Unit Titles Act 2010 will replace the Unit Titles Act 1972 in late 2010. The old Act has been unable to properly provide and cater for the myriad of significant multi-story unit title developments built in the last two decades, and the new Act seeks to address the shortcomings of the current regime. Read more