NEW LAND TITLES

Hokitika Guardian, 28 June 1930, Page 3

NEW LAND TITLES

CO AIPULSO R Y REG ISTR ATI ON

PROGRESS 0E WORK

LONG TASK CONTINUES

One of the many achievements that .vill stand to the credit ol' Sir Francis Bell is the Land Transfer Compulsory Registration of Titles Act, 1924. When the Act was passed about one-fifth of the titles to land held by pakehas ative-owned land is not affected b.\ the. Act) were held under a variety of deeds, many of which dated back to the original Crown grant. This proportion has been reduced to one-tenth. As such lauds changed hands it was necessary for lawyers to examine vei\ carefully deeds to make sure of the validity of the title, and the accuracy, of the survey as claimed on the last title and invariably each transfer meant another document added to the nile, until it became rather a laborious process to transfer land under such character of title. '\ s a barrister with much experience • n the transfer of lands from one owner to another, Sir Francis Bell saw 'Hhjnt the process was unnecessarily complicated, and furthermore should uiy mistake be made by any solicitoi it any time it might mean a smudge on the title. So Sir Francis Bell promoted, legislation which empowered he Land Transfer Department t* make a transfer of all such properties and issue to same titles under the Land Transfer Act. This is not work that can he accomplished quickly. Nearly six years have gone since the Act was passed, and, thanks to a Smooth-working department, about half the work has been completed. Tn some cases the workers object to pay the charge made, but vs in such instances they are not pressed to do so the title simply lies :‘xi the strong-rooms of the department

but should the owner wish at any turnto deal with the property, by way oi sale or exchange, then he would perforce to have to pay the charge to gain possession of the title. The dealing of these old Crown deed titles is cf moment to the legal profession, as possibly twenty documents teach ol which has to lie persued carefully) i« replaced with one, and the registration is clear.

Mr C. E .Nalder, the head of the department, states that titles to property in New Zealand could be iegistered voluntarily under the Land Transfer Act as far hack as 1870, hut as the legal process was sometimes rather costly, the process was rather a slow one.

The country is within measurable time of being quite clear of the old style titles. The districts dealt with so far have been Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki f almost wholly), Canterbury. Westland, Marlborough (almost wholly) and -Southland. The Wellington Land Registration District should be almost completed by the end of the year. This will leave Otago, Nelson and Auckland still to be done.