Landonline
Landonline Release 3.1 overview
The journey to 100% e-lodgement is almost complete and Release 3.1, scheduled for 29 September 2008, is the final release before the mandatory e-lodgement date for titles transactions of 23 February 2009.
Release 3.1 contains enhancements for both conveyancers and surveyors.
For conveyancers...
As a result of Release 3.1, conveyancers will be able to complete the majority of their work in Landonline.
New features to be introduced include:
- Seven new Template instrument types – new screens will enable you to use e-dealing to complete seven new Template instruments.
- New functionality for attaching images – Release 3.1 will allow PDF files to be attached to instruments. Landonline will automatically convert any PDF files into TIFF.
- The introduction of new title instruments will allow you to lodge your complex subdivision registration via e-dealing.
- Registration methods – currently we have two methods to register your e-dealing; Auto Reg and Lodge. Release 3.1 will introduce 'Lodge with Template' and 'Lodge with Image Only':
- Lodge with Template means instruments can be lodged using e-dealing as a Template. Essentially this is what you do now; you go into e-dealing and fill in a 'form' or Template.
- Lodge with Image Only means you can submit a dealing by simply attaching the documents you need to your instrument. One hundred and seventy-seven (177) Image Only instrument types will be e-capable, allowing more dealings to be submitted via Landonline.
For surveyors...
Key benefits being introduced are:
- Exception process – an improvement to the way the exception process is accessed by surveyors. New functionality will remove the need to certify and submit a dataset to access the exception process. Surveyors will be able to enter the exception process at any time in data capture and any enabled user will be able to use the exception process.
- TA field – several functionality changes have been made to how the Territorial Authority name is entered into an e-survey. Surveyors will be required to populate the TA field in the Manage Survey Transaction screen and will not be able to delete the TA name from the Survey Header. Pre-validation will fail if the TA field is not populated.
Detailed information on changes to Landonline for Release 3.1 will be published in the Landonline system updates section on this website in early September.
Training of Customer Support Agents for Release 3.1
During the period of 28 August to 12 September, LINZ's Customer Support Agents will be undergoing training in readiness for Release 3.1. As a result, customers may experience delays during peak times.
"Speed issues caused by internet latency" - case study
Experienced e-survey user, Riki Wi, says his firm has recently resolved speed issues when working in Landonline and he has posted their findings on the e-survey web forum.
"If you're having e-survey speed issues, which seem to be most evident in Layout Plan Sheets, you may wish to read my notes," says Riki. "I hope it may help point others in the right direction."
Microsoft Windows VISTA now supported
Last year, Microsoft released its latest operating system – Windows VISTA. At that time, we advised we would test VISTA to confirm its operability with Landonline, specifically the Citrix environment we operate.
Testing has now been successfully completed and support for VISTA has been available since 31 July 2008. The versions of VISTA we support are Business (32 bit) and Ultimate (32 bit).
For a list of current operating systems that operate successfully with Landonline, please refer to the System support policies: what LINZ supports section on this website.
Regulatory
Land Transfer Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2008 and other regulatory changes for Release 3.1
Landonline Release 3.1 will result in a number of regulatory changes to authorise and support 100% e-lodgement. These are additional to changes that have already come into force with previous releases.
The Land Transfer Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2008 and the Joint Family Homes Amendment Regulations 2008 will come into force on 29 September 2008. These regulations provide for electronic lodgement of the remaining classes of permissible electronic instruments and set out their certification requirements.
The Electronic Transactions Act 2002 and related regulations have already been amended to allow electronic lodgement of transactions that do not require certification by a conveyancer under the Land Transfer Act 1952 (refer to Landwrap May 2008).
This final round of changes will mean that virtually all title transactions may be lodged electronically. The only exceptions are those that for some legal reason cannot be accepted in electronic form, such as court-executed instruments.
A list of transactions that may be lodged electronically and their certification requirements will be added to the Landonline website in time for Release 3.1. The list will also set out transactions that may be lodged electronically without certifications, as well as any transactions that cannot be accepted in electronic form.
The Registrar-General of Land (RGL) will also specify requirements for forms, statutory compliance and supporting evidence requirements for all classes of permissible electronic instruments, in substitution for the previous gazetted specifications.
The Land Transfer Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2008
Expansion of e-lodgement
The amendment regulations allow almost all land transactions to be lodged electronically. They describe several new classses of permissible electronic instruments and certification requirements and replace the former necessary elements with a small number of restrictions on electronic instruments.
Amendment regulation 6
Revokes regulations 11 to 13 and substitutes new regulations:
The substituted regulation 11 sets out the parties in respect of whom certifications must be given for all of the classes of permissible electronic instrument that will be provided for by Release 3.1.
In addition to Transfer, Mortgage and Discharge instruments, the substituted regulation 11 will also provide for certification of a number of instrument types:
- Easements and easement variations, encumbrances, mortgage variations and changes of priority, leases and licences to occupy, variations and surrenders of leases and licences to occupy, transmissions, caveats, mergers of leases and corrections, and changes of name
- Notices of claim under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976
- Appications under the Joint Family Homes Act 1964
- Applications to deposit plans and issue titles under the Unit Titles Act 1972, and
- Esplanade strips, easements for access strips and amalgamation covenants under the Resource Management Act 1991.
The substituted regulation 12 repeats existing certifications (including the certification to be given in the case of transfers and mortgages of Crown leases or licences introduced for Release 3.0 by the last Land Transfer Amendment Regulations 2008). It also introduces three new certifications for some of the new classes of permissible electronic instruments that will be available in Release 3.1:
- For mortgage priority instruments, a certification that any submortgagee of a mortgage that has its priority postponed has consented
- For applications for transmission, a certification that the applicant is entitled to be registered as proprietor by transmission, and
- For variations and surrenders of easements that were created as conditions of subdivision approvals, a certification that the territorial authority has consented.
The substituted regulation 13 again describes (for the purposes of section 164E of the Act) the legal effect of registration of instruments that have been certified under section 164A, being the same as a deed executed by the specified parties for listed instrument types, and the same as an instrument made in writing and executed by the specified parties. In addition to Transfer, Mortgage and Discharge instruments, the substituted regulation 13 list the new classes of permissible electronic instruments that will be available in Release 3.1.
Amendment regulation 7
Revokes regulation 24(3) so the provision for registration of part of the land affected will apply to electronic instruments in appropriate cases.
Amendment regulation 8
Revokes Schedule 1 and substitutes a new Schedule 1 with two parts, Parts 1 and 2:
Part 1 again describes the classes of permissible instrument (in place of the existing Part 2 after the original Part 1 was revoked for Release 3.0 by the last Land Transfer Amendment Regulations 2008). In addition to Transfer, Mortgage and Discharge instruments, the new Part 1 list the the new classes of permissible electronic instruments that will be available in Release 3.1.
(Note that these are the classes of permissible electronic instrument that must contain a certification under section 164A(1) and (2)(a) of the Act. Release 3.1 will also allow for electronic lodgement of a number of other transactions for which conveyancer certifications will not be required by the amendment regulations (refer to Landwrap May 2008)
Part 2 replaces the existing Part 3. The existing Part 3 described necessary elements of electronic instruments, which confined electronic Discharge, Transfer and Mortgage instruments to those satisfying the prescribed elements. The new Part 2 describes a small number of restrictions on the electronic instruments listed in the new Part 1:
- For all of the prescribed classes of instrument, an instrument required by any enactment to be executed by a court registrar or under a court seal cannot be an electronic instrument.
- An application for transmission of land for which the computer register is noted with the words “No survivorship” cannot be an electronic instrument.
For instrument classes designed to be electonically registered automatically without LINZ staff examination, single instruments effecting complex transactions are restricted, namely those affecting multiple properties in combinations of computer registers and registered instruments and different proprietors. It is, however, permissible for such complex transactions to be effected in two or more electronic instruments.
Joint Family Homes Amendment Regulations 2008
The Joint Family Homes Regulations 1965 are amended by inserting a new regulation 5A. This provides that an application to settle land as a joint family home may be lodged as an electronic instrument, if it is supported by a copy of a statutory declaration in the prescribed form, and a copy of the husband’s or wife’s consent where such a consent is required by section 5(1) of the Joint Family Homes Act 1964. This allows applications under sections 4, 5 and 12A of the 1964 Act to be lodged as electronic images, including the requisite statutory declaration and spouse’s consent where applicable.
The Electronic Transactions (Amendments to Schedule) Order 2008 and the Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2008
As advised in Landwrap May 2008, the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 (ETA) and related regulations were amended with effect from 6 June 2008. This allows additional transactions that do not require certification by a conveyancer under the Land Transfer Act to be lodged in electronic form if provided for under Landonline.
- The Electronic Transactions (Amendments to Schedule) Order 2008 removed the previous exclusion from the ETA of instruments and other documents lodged with the RGL.
- The Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2008 added a new regulation 6 to the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2003. This provides that Landonline (i.e. the approved electronic workspace facility) is the only authorised information system for receipt of electronic documents lodged or filed with the RGL under the ETA.
Specifications in New Zealand Gazette
The RGL will specify requirements for forms, statutory provisions to be complied with, and evidence requirements for all classes of permissible electronic instruments, in substitution for the previous gazetted specifications.
Forms of electronic instruments and statutory requirements
The Gazette notice will specify acceptable forms and statutory requirements for the following electronic instruments:
- Transfer, mortgage and discharge instruments, easements and easement variations, encumbrances, mortgage variations and changes of priority, leases and licences to occupy, variations and surrenders of leases and licences to occupy, transmissions, caveats, mergers of leases and corrections, and changes of name
- Notices of claim under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976
- Applications under the Joint Family Homes Act 1964
- Applications to deposit plans and issue titles under the Unit Titles Act 1972, and
- Esplanade strips, easements for access strips and amalgamation covenants under the Resource Management Act 1991.
This notice will replace the corresponding transfer, mortgage and discharge specifications in the Gazette dated 20 March 2008, Issue No 63, page 1809.
Requirements for retention of evidence
Section 164C of the Land Transfer Act 1952 requires any practitioner who is giving a certification to retain evidence showing the truth of that certification. Without limiting what may be considered adequate to show the truth of the certifications given, the RGL will specify the type of evidence that will satisfy the obligation under section 164C. The New Zealand Law Society e-dealing Guidelines and associated Authority and Instruction form(s) will continue, where applicable, to be accepted by the RGL as being an adequate means of satisfying the evidence requirements.
This notice will replace the corresponding Transfer, Mortgage and Discharge specifications in the Gazette dated 14 November 2002, Issue No 166, page 4176.
When specifications take effect
The Gazette notices will take effect on 29 September 2008.
Standard for verification of identity – FAQS
LINZ published a new standard for verification of identity on 30 May 2008 (refer June 2008 edition of Landwrap). The standard took effect on 1 August 2008.
Initial feedback about the standard has raised some points of clarification that are addressed in a fact sheet on the LINZ website.
The standard is available on the LINZ website – LINZS20002.
Update on notices of high court caveat applications
A notice of an application to the High Court for an Order to sustain a caveat or service of the resulting Court Order, under sections 145 or 145A of the Land Transfer Act 1952, must comply with the 14 and 28 day periods prescribed by Regulation 39 of the Land Transfer Regulations 2002.
To effect valid service by facsimile, such notices must be sent to one of the following LINZ fax numbers:
- Christchurch Processing Centre - 03 366 6422, or
- Hamilton Processing Centre - 07 858 5488
A facsimile notice will be taken to have been delivered at the time specified on its record of transmission, as prescribed by section 240D(1)(b) of the Land Transfer Act 1952.
These fax numbers have been specified for this purpose, pursuant to section 240(C)(c) of the Land Transfer Act 1952, in the New Zealand Gazette 131/3406 (21 August 2008).
The online Gazette notice will be available one month after hard copy publication.
