It can get mighty confusing when you start looking at Titles and their attachments, so we’ve created a brief description below of each to assist you in understanding the different names and functions.
The first thing we do when designing a house is research the site, number one being to look at the Covenants, Consent Notices and Easements attached to the Title. These documents give us key rules and regulations about what we can and can’t do on the site.
1. Certificate of Title (CoT)
Every property in New Zealand has a Title. Land Titles are the legal ownership document for your site and state the Lot and DP (Deposited Plan) numbers for the property, the owner(s) full names and any attachments to the Title. When you purchase a property the ownership gets transferred from the seller to you, resulting in your name being updated onto the Title. Arcline has access to any Title in the country so simply ask for a copy of yours if you’re unsure.
2. Consent Notices
A Title may have none, one, or several Consent Notices attached to it. These are rules and regulations which the Council impose on the property when it was subdivided, whether it be 50 years ago or 1 year ago, these rules apply. District Councils can enforce Consent Notices and will always bring them to your attention when submitting a building consent. They may contain rules about the size, shape, color or type of building you are restricted to build, or rules around the keeping of pets on your property. There’s a wide range of common Consent Notice items we work with.
3. Covenants
Covenants are rules put on the site by the developer and typically are in relation to house size and materials, height restrictions, fencing, the type of house you’re allowed to build and what it can be used for. Sometimes restrictions are placed on using a property for commercial use. Covenants are usually only seen on larger developments where a number of Lots are being created by the development subdivision, and act as a way for the Developer to control the standard of housing within their subdivision. While they can be a pain, they do result in nicer, more uniform housing in new subdivisions.
4. Easements
These are shown on the title and are used where a second party (sometimes your local council or a neighbor) needs access over your land for drainage, services or for access; for example, a Right of Way driveway. Other easements relate to power, water or stormwater, although not all properties have Easements, it really depends on what occured at the time of subdivision.