Most privately owned land in New Zealand is held under the land title system of the Land Transfer Act 1952.

A Record of Title is the official document showing the current ownership of the land described in it. A title also contains a variety of important information about a site, including:

• The legal description
• Any registered rights and restrictions, e.g., covenants, easements, consent notices etc. 
• A title plan showing the legal boundaries the site.

Requiring the relevant title(s) as part of a resource consent application means we can confirm the current ownership, legal description(s), location and extent of the site(s), and any restrictions that might apply. This is important as these details may affect how the land can be used or developed and are therefore relevant to the assessment of a resource consent application. You can obtain a record of title (previously referred to as a certificate of title) and copies of other documents registered against the title from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).  

Council requires a copy of the relevant title(s) that are no more than 3 months old for any application for resource consent (except applications for land use consent to construct a bore).

You will need to obtain a copy of the relevant title(s) from Land Information New Zealand and provide those to Council along with your resource consent application. 

You can make an application for resource consent regardless of whether you own the relevant property or not. However, Council will still require a copy of the relevant title(s) along with your resource consent application.  We also recommend providing along with your application some kind of confirmation in writing from the landowner that you have their permission to make use of their land. 

Titles can be obtained from LINZ here: Record of title - current | Toitū Te Whenua - Land Information New Zealand

If you are unsure about how to obtain or interpret your Record of Title, consulting a lawyer or property conveyancer is recommended.

If you have any general questions about the consent process, or what rules may apply to your activity, please reach out to our Consent Enquiries Team at consent.enquiries@orc.govt.nz or 0800 474 082