LINZ News
New Regulatory Chief
Warwick Quinn is LINZ's new General Manager Regulatory. Overseeing the regulators and statutory officers, he's tasked with aligning these areas into an environment that delivers LINZ customers a consistent and robust regulatory environment.
He's new to the role, but not to LINZ. Warwick has been the Valuer-General since 1998, the year the Office of the Valuer-General was established. He came to the role after 14 years in the private sector – in private practice, banking, local government and insurance – and he's seen the property sector from many angles.
"Previously the government had a monopoly on valuation. I came in at the disestablishment of the Valuation Department to set up the regulatory regime and a competitive rating valuation market. Private valuation companies are now contracted by councils to value your or my properties so that local authorities can strike rates."
Warwick says the service delivery/regulatory split has worked well since then, but now LINZ is raising the bar for itself in how it structures and runs the regulatory environment across the board.
"We're clustering our regulatory chiefs and technical expertise together, and supporting them with teams expert in common regulatory practises such as standard-setting and quality assurance. It's a centre of excellence approach – because we recognise the development of regulatory frameworks and monitoring/audit are specialised skills in their own right."
Warwick knows that there needs to be more clarity and communications between customers and LINZ about each other's roles. "For instance, from a LINZ regulatory perspective, our job is not to check every single valuation, land title or survey plan.
"Our role is to clearly define the outcomes desired for each sector, and then monitor/audit the control systems that the groups we regulate have in place to meet these outcomes. Focusing on quality assurance and encouraging good practice assists in the development of self-regulation, one of the outcomes of LINZ's Statement of Intent."
The end result? Warwick says it's all about getting a balance in the level of intervention, which means not over- or under-regulating, and ensuring the groups we regulate know exactly what has to be delivered. There should be a consistent risk-based application of regulation across all the regulatory areas.
Warwick will talk about LINZ's regulatory strategic direction at the upcoming Fourth Trans-Tasman Survey Conference in October.
Register your interest in e-survey training
Neil Pullar of Cadastre Limited is now seeking registrations of interest from survey firms for e-survey training.
As Landwrap reported last month, LINZ is sponsoring a limited programme of e-survey training for surveyors to receive at no cost.
Under the sponsored programme, Cadastre will provide training to a number of survey firms throughout New Zealand between now and the end of the year. There is a limit to the number of firms Cadastre can reach during the sponsored programme, however there is likely to be commercial training capability available in the market soon, of which Cadastre will be one of the providers.
"It's a great opportunity for surveyors ready to make the move to e-survey," says LINZ's Customer Services Manager, Jeff Needham. "LINZ is sponsoring a limited amount of training time from Neil, so we urge surveyors to take it up while it's available at no cost."
Training will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while also factoring in Cadastre's requirements for prudent scheduling.
One thing LINZ stresses: make sure you're ready and prepared to start using e-survey.
"The training is aimed at surveyors who have completed computer-based training, who have the digital certification, and the software loaded onto your computers," Jeff says. "If you have the systems in place, then Neil and his trainers can walk straight into your office and help you start working with datasets through to submission."
Neil has been piloting the training in Hamilton and Wellington, and says the pilots have worked well in getting surveyors using e-survey in day-to-day work. "We've seen people trained in the pilots lodging plans with e-survey now, and going beyond just simple surveys. It's become routine for them."
Register your interest and find out more details about the training online at www.cadastre.co.nz
Landonline
e-dealing Workflow Guidance 'Checklists' now available
As the July Landwrap reported, checklists have been developed to supplement the workflow guidance documentation for firms new to e-dealing. The checklists are now available – they will help your firm become familiar with the change in workflow practices as you integrate e-dealing into your workflow.
Again, Tim Jones of the Auckland District Law Society and co-convenor of the NZLS Property Law section's Land Titles committee has contributed an enormous effort to this resource for law firms. "The checklists lay out e-dealing processes in an easy-to-follow way," he says.
The four checklists follow the processes for the vendor, purchaser, mortgage and discharge. LINZ stresses they are a guide only – the checklists are in Word format enabling your firm to customise them to your requirements.
"I suspect firms will only use these checklists while new to e-dealing", Tim says. "Once their own workflow processes are bedded in, the checklists may well be redundant."
You can download the checklists from the NZLS website, www.lawyers.org.nz. LINZ will also send them out with the Workflow Guidance documentation in our Welcome Pack to newly signed-up e-dealing users.
New e-survey and e-dealing pages on the Landonline website
As e-survey or e-dealing users, there are several resources you need right at your fingertips.
New web pages on the Landonline website group together the tools, publications and documents that e-survey, e-dealing and TA e-certification users need to learn and use Landonline's services.
For surveyors, there are templates, Cadastral Survey Guidelines for e-survey and the series of 'tips from the experts' among the many quick links.
For e-dealing users, the new web page links you to the NZLS website for A& I forms and workflow guidance, as well as the Compliance Review information prepared by the Registrar-General of Land and more.
Check out the new pages – e-dealing, e-survey and TA e-certification quick links – on the Registered Users page of www.landonline.govt.nz.
Hot Topics
Welcome to our new Landwrap feature, Hot Topics. In this section, our LINZ experts answer the latest questions or issues raised with us by Landonline customers
Are the supporting registration documents for an e-survey land transfer plan prepared in the same way as dealings for manual survey plans?
Yes. Our processing centre staff say solicitors should prepare subdivision dealings for e-survey as they do for manual survey plans.
An e-survey contains the same information as a manual plan, but it will be presented differently. Subdivision Consents will be presented as separate supporting documents to the plan, rather than endorsed on the title diagram plan sheet.
A common requisition item arises when e-surveys are lodged with a council notation that a consent notice has been issued, but without the actual consent notice. Why?
The item gets requisitioned because consent notices (not the council notations) under Section 221 of the RMA must always be lodged as a document (with a $50 fee) as part of a dealing to deposit the plan and issue of new computer registers.
Some processing centre staff have noticed that RMA Section 223 and/or 224 Subdivision Certificates are being both attached to the e-survey as supporting documents and then also presented as copies with the dealing as well. What's the correct process?
The subdivision certificates can be either submitted with the e-survey, or lodged with the dealing, but not both.
Either:
Attach the Territorial Authority (TA) Certifications to the e-survey as supporting documents. These can be attached automatically by the TA using TA e-certification, or attached electronically by the surveyor by scanning the certification.
OR
If the certificates are not attached to the e-survey in any way, you can lodge them as a document (with a $50 fee) with the dealing to deposit the plan and issue of new computer registers.
NB: LINZ only requires one certification for each type of certification for the survey. If previous certifications have been superceded by later certifications, then the first certification should be deleted.
A recent hot topic with callers to LINZ's 0800 support service:
When searching for a Computer Register reference using a part appellation, no matter which search result I select, I get a message saying that 'no records were found in Landonline that marked your selected search criteria. Enter different search criteria and try again.'
This happens because some part appellations are not linked to a computer register. Use this procedure to search instead:
- Search on the whole appellation not the part appellation in screen CCL_S03, and view the Search Results field.
- Scroll to the right-hand side of the 'Search Results' field to view the 'Parcel Id' information.
- Look for a six digit Parcel Id rather than a seven digit Parcel Id number. Six digits are title parcels and seven digits are survey parcels.
- Select the 'complex' radio button. Enter the 'Parcel Id' number. Click 'Search Now'.
- Click on the 'Select' button. This takes you to screen CDE_SO1.
- Click on the 'Search Now' button. The Computer Register reference should display in the 'Search Results' box.
- Click on the 'Select' button to place the Computer Register in the Search Tree.
Processing
Requesting a Credit on a Landonline Account/LINZ Tax Invoice
LINZ has a standard procedure for customers requesting a credit on their Landonline account. So that our staff can process your request without delay, please do one of the following:
- If you have already received your invoice:
- Clearly mark each item to be credited by circling the item name and $ amount on the invoice
- If there's more than one item, total the amount to be credited and write that amount on the invoice
- Fax 04 460 0161 or post (see below) the invoice back to us with a covering letter explaining the reason for a credit.
Please note: in all instances, the covering letter should give a full explanation of the reason for the credit request. Without the reason, we cannot process your request.
- If you have not yet received the invoice, but have a Fees Report please follow steps 1 to 3 above on the Fees Report.
- If you receive your invoices electronically:
- Print the invoice.
- Follow steps 1 to 3 above.
Our address for posting:
Billing Credit Request, LINZ Customer Services
National Office
Private Box 5501
Wellington
or Fax to:
04 460 0161
Requesting a Refund on a cheque or cash payment
Write to the Processing Centre Manager for the Land District concerned. Provide the Plan or Dealing number, amount claiming and explanation why you believe there has been an overpayment.
Re-lodgement of Registered Instruments
LINZ often receives instruments for re-lodgement that have already been registered. This usually happens because customers need a change made to the Register – for example to correct a misspelling or to add a missing title reference.
Regulation 33 of the Land Transfer Regulations 2002 does not permit the Registrar-General of Land to accept re-lodged instruments to correct such errors because the registration has already been completed. The regulation states 'No alteration may be made to any instrument after it has been registered.'
If the error occurred prior to lodgement, but the applicant only detected it after registration the applicant has to correct it:
- If a title reference has been omitted, by lodging a fresh instrument; and/or
- If there is a spelling error in the registered proprietor's name, by lodging a correction of name, in Form 23 or 24 in Schedule 2 to the Regulations.
If the error is due to a LINZ processing mistake, the instrument does not require amendment, but the register does. Here, the error should be pointed out to LINZ by writing to the Processing Centre Manager for the land district concerned, using the Record Correction Request on the LINZ web site. To find this form, enter 'record correction' in the search box/field, top right of the www.linz.govt.nz home page. The Registrar-General of Land may then correct the error (pursuant to Section 80 of the Land Transfer Act 1952).
Regulatory
From the Registrar-General of Land
Surrender of Land Covenants
Prior to the 2002 amendment to the Land Transfer Act 1952, it was necessary to employ a Deed of Revocation or an application to the High Court, under section 126G of the Property Law Act 1952, to extinguish a land or restrictive covenant.
The Deed or Court Order could then be lodged for registration.
Section 90F(2) of the Land Transfer Act 1952 (substituted in 2002) allows use of an Easement Instrument to surrender (entirely or partially) a restrictive or land covenant, to which section 90F(1) applies. The prescribed form is Form 4 in Schedule 2 of the Land Transfer Regulations 2002.
The registered proprietors of the -
* land burdened by the covenant; and
* land with the benefit of the covenant (or at least those who agree to a partial surrender);- must execute the Easement Instrument.
The mortgagee of the land with the benefit of the covenant must also execute the Easement Instrument by means of the Consent Form Annexure Schedule specified in the New Zealand Gazette2002/4181 (14 November 2002).
Despite the process applying strictly only to covenants created under section 90F(1), the Registrar-General of Land will accept an Easement Instrument, conforming with the above requirements to extinguish restrictive or land covenants, created and registered before the commencement of section 90F.
From the Surveyor-General
Cadastral Survey Guidelines for e-survey
For several years, the Surveyor-General has published Guidelines for Cadastral Survey. These guidelines are designed to help surveyors interpret the Surveyor-General's Rules for Cadastral Survey. They offer suggested methods for complying with the Rules and other statutory requirements.
A new version of the Guidelines specifically for e-survey is now available. This was initially published as a draft (Version 5.0) for the e-survey pilot.
The e-survey guidelines follow the same format as the existing guidelines for hard-copy plans (Version 4.2), but they have been adapted to cover the particular requirements for e-survey.
The revised e-survey guidelines (Version 5.1) will be available from the 'Cadastral Surveying' page on the LINZ website and from a link on the 'e-survey Quick Links' page on the Landonline website.
