Title types, explained
Is that house a cross-lease? Check the address.
Around 200,000 New Zealand homes sit on cross-lease titles, and listings often don't say so. Type the address and the report shows the title type, along with the land details, hazard layers and school zones for that property.
What a cross-lease actually is
On a cross-lease you own an undivided share of the whole section together with the other homeowners on it, and you lease the footprint of your own home from your co-owners, usually for 999 years at a token rent. A plan attached to the title, called the flats plan, shows the outline of each home. It was a popular way to put two or three homes on one section from the 1970s to the 1990s, which is why so many suburban homes have one.
What it changes for an owner
- Consent for changes. Additions, a new deck or garage, sometimes even a fence usually need your co-owners' written consent, and bigger changes need an updated flats plan.
- The flats plan has to match reality. If a previous owner extended the home and the plan was never updated, the title is often described as defective. Lenders and insurers can ask questions, and fixing it involves a surveyor and your co-owners.
- Shared land, shared decisions. The driveway and any common areas are owned together, so maintenance and changes are joint decisions with the neighbours on your title.
None of this makes a cross-lease home a bad buy. Hundreds of thousands of people own them happily. It changes the questions your lawyer asks, so the earlier you know the title type, the better your due diligence.
Check the title type before you offer
The property check reads the record for any NZ address and shows whether it is freehold, cross-lease, unit title or leasehold, in under a minute. Then your lawyer reviews the full title, including the flats plan on a cross-lease, before you go unconditional.
Check an addressCommon questions
Can it be converted to freehold?
Often yes, if everyone on the shared title agrees. It takes a surveyor, a lawyer and council consent, and is commonly quoted in the tens of thousands of dollars per property. Some owners do it to simplify future alterations and sales.
Cross-lease vs unit title?
A unit title (common in apartments and townhouses) comes with a body corporate, levies and formal rules. A cross-lease has no body corporate; it relies on the lease terms and the co-owners agreeing. Different structures, different questions for your lawyer.
Ordering a LIM as well?
A LIM covers the council's file on the property. The title type comes from the record of title, which is separate. See what a LIM costs, council by council, and run the address check first so you know which questions to take to your lawyer.
General information about title types, not legal advice. Title details for a specific property come from the record of title; your lawyer confirms them before you commit.