The New Land Bill

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 128, 8 September 1910, Page 8

The New Land Bill

FURTHER AMENDMENTS PROPOSED. CONCESSIONS TO L.I.P. LESSEES. COMPULSORY LEASING PRINCIPLE EMBODIED. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The Government's new Land Bill was introduced in the House this afternoon. ACQUISITION OF FEE SIMPLE. Under this heading it is provided that the lessee of land held on the lease in perpetuity system, whether settlement land or ordinary Crown land, may at any time during the currency of the lease acquire the fee simple thereof by purchase in the manner and subject to the conditions and restrictions contained in this Act, provided that where the land is subject to any incumbrance, lien or interest, tho right of purchase shall not be exercised unless the person 'entitled to the incumbrance, lien or interest agrees in writing that the purchase charge in favour of the Crown hereinafter mentioned, shall have priority over the same. For the' purposes of the purchase the following provisions shall apply:—(a) The lessee who desires to purchase shall make application in that behalf ,to the Board, stating whether he desires to purchase for'cash oi; on the instalment systein as hereinafter provided; (b) the application shall be accompanied by an application fee of ten pounds; (c) the applicant shall satisfy the Board that the statutory improvement and residential conditions, subject to which the lease is held, have been duly fulfilled up to the date oi his application; (d) the applicant shah also satisfy the Board that all rates and .taxes payable in respect of the land have been duly paid; (e) if satisfied as aforesaid the Board shall grant the application and give notice thereof to the applicant in the prescribed form; (f; the applicant shall pay all rent up to the date of the purchase, for which purpose the rent shall, where necessary, be apportioned and any refund to which he may thereby entitled shall be deducted from the purchase price; (g) If the first cash payment is not made within the • stipulated time as hereinafter provided or extended time as the Board thinks fit to allow, the applicati6n shall be deemed void arid the application let shall be forfeited; (j) the purchase price shall be the original value of the land, meaning thereby the yalue on which the rent reserved by the least Wfis computed, and, in addition, one fourth of the sum (if any) by which the unimproved value at the date ot the purchase exceeds such original value, —Provided (1) that in case where t.he rent was computed on the capital ?alue of the land apart from the buildings thereon and the assessed value of the buildings was to be paid by the lessee, so much of ftat value as remains impaid at the time of the application to purchase the fee simple, shall be added to the capital value and included in the purchase price; (2) the unimproved value at tho date of the purchase shall be ascertained by the Board by revaluation; (3) the purchase price, less any such deduction as aforesaid in re-j spect Of apportioned rent shall, ac-, cording to the tenor of the application,' be paid wholly in cash, or as to one-j fourth part thereof in cash, and as to the balance with interest at 5 per cent, per annum iby ■■ half-yearly instalments' according to the table in a schedule at-1 tached; (4) such cash payment shall be due on the 14th. day after the date of the purchase as fixed by the Board, and the first half-yearly instalment' shall be due six months after that date. I

j Where, with the approval of the [Board, the purchaser subdivides the lrnd i for the purposes of sale, the Board may apportion the purchase charge amoTig : the several subdivisions in such manner 1 as it thinks fit, and the person to whom I any such subdivision is sold shall be lnable only for the amount of such purchase charge apportioned to that subdivision. Upon the appropriate cbsh payment being made as aforesaid, the lease shall be determined ami the puiS chaser shall be entitled to a certificate of title to the land, nw'lec 1 that the fee simple purchased shall be subject to any right, title, intcre«t or encumbrance which is then vested in aiiv purson other than the lessee and by which, at the time of such completion, the lease is affected (without prejudice, however, j to the Crown's priority in respect oi purchase, charge or recurring charges). The certificate of title shall show on its face that it is issued, and that the land comprised therein is held subject! the conditions and restrictions of thei land acts relating to charges and non aggregation. In any case, where the lease specially, limits the right of the lessee to the surface soil of the land the certificate of title shall be issued subject to the like limitations. _ Section 177 of the principal Act (givin'g the power of a lease in perpetuity the right of purchase)' is repealed both as to existing leases and as to leases hereinafter granted. Holders of leases in perpetuity will be given the right to purchase fee i simple of their holdings on paying the, original value, plus 25 per cent., of the! difference between the same and the value at the date of the sale, the terms of payment to be cash or quarter cash and the balance to be payable bv instalments extending over a period oi 33 yearis. LANDS IN MINING DISTRICTS. Special provisions apply to the acquisitions of the freehold of leases in perpetuity situated within a mining district, and the warden's consent has to! be obtained for such a purchase, whilsi; special restrictions may be placed on.the title as may foe deemed expedient] in the interests "of the mining industry or land settlement. [PROCEEDS FROM FREEHOLD SALES.. In regard to the proceeds of the sale' of the leases in perpetuity, it is pro-

vidcd that all monies received on account of the purchase of the freehold of settlement lands (i.e., lands for settle •ment holdings) is to be paid into the land for settlements account, when it ; will automatically be devoted to the ac- ! quisition of further areas of private i land for closer settlement. The pro-1 ceeds of the sale of the fee simple of' leases in perpetuity of ordinary Crown 1 lands are to be paid into a special ac- j count, designated the National Develop-1 inent Accout, and will be used solely in the development of the country by means of roads, bridges, telegraphs, telephones and railways as Parliament may direct. FURTHER LIMITATION OF AREAS. It is proposed to reduce the maximum area that may be held by a Crown tenant or sold by the Crown to any person from 5000 acres of third-class land (or the equivalent proportion 01 2000 acres of second-class land, or 640 acres of first-class land) to 2500 acres of third-class land, or 2000 acres ot second-class land, or 400. acres of firstclass land. A similar reduction in the | area that may be held is made in pri- j vate lands that were acquired from the Crown since 1907, and are therefore subI ject to' the provisions of the 'Land Act . in this respect. | NATIONAL ENDOWMENTS. ' I Tenants of national -endowments ore! ! in future to have a vote in the election of the elective member of the land j board of the district, and one-fifth of [the money annually devoted to educai tional purposes from rents received from Rational endowments will be divided amongst the university colleges of Wei(lington, Auckland, Christchurch'and Dunedin. SMALL GRAZING RUNS AND PASTORAL RUNS. Several amendments in the leasing of pastoral lands are included in the Bill I tending to protect the tenant's improve- : ments and to encourage him to make better use of the land,, and, in cases where his run is regarded for closer granting him a prior right to a lease of part of the run under the new conditions. | ARBITRATION. A uniform system of arbitration under the Land Act takes the place of the present conflicting methods of arbitration. OTHER AMENDMENTS. Certain classes, of interests in land are. exempted from the operation ol part XIII of the Land Act, that is to say, the purchasers of such land do not require to make any declaration as to their present holding of land.when •registering the transfer. These interests relate to small areas of closed roads or land acquired from the Crown bv way of exchange. There are numerous minor amendments both of the Land Act and the 'Land for Settlements. Act, all in the direction of simplifying the acquisition of Crown land® ALLOTMENTS. Allotments of " settlement lands situated within a township may ibe leased for grazing purposes from year to year I until applied for on renewal lease. An , applicant for settlement land is not required to deposit any rent or fees unless declared successful at the ballot, or if there is no other applicant for his allotment. I The age of applicants is raised from 17 to 21 years. O.R.P. lessees now have the right to surrender their licenses if they so desire, as well as other lessees. Remitted* rent remains a charge upon the land,l but is only repayable if the tenant desires at any time "to transfer the land) at a profit, after allowing for his im-| provements. The present veto of the Mlhister upon transfers is abolished, but land boards are-required to satisfy themselves that no undue aggregation of holdings takes place. All lessees of education endowments leased under the Land Act are granteu the right of renewal at the expiry oi the term of their lease, and many verbal amendments are made in different sections of the Land Act so as to harmonise the various provisions. COMPULSORY ACQUISITION. The provisions whereby the Government may compulsory acquire private estates by way of lease are important. It is provide! that where the acquisition of land .by way of lease has been recommended by.the Board, but' no agreement for a lease can be come I to with the owner, the Governor may! take the land whether European or ! Native, compulsory by way of lease on the said terms, and the following pro- j visions shall then apply: (a) The term' of the lease shall commence on a date to be fixed by tjie court, and on that date possession of the land shall be given to the Crown by the owner; (b) the rent shall be" determined by the court, but shall not exceed a sum equivalent to 4% per cent, of the value of the land, including all improvements as determined by the court; (c) the rent shall be paid to the receiver of land revenue half-yearly on the first day oi January and the first day of July in i each year, provided that in addition' to the first half-yearly payment there shall be paid rent for the period be-' tween the date of the commencement of the lease and the said -first day ofl January or first day of July; (d) .no land shall be acquired by compulsory lease unless the owner thereof holds j (including the land sought to be so acquired), rural or pastoral land of an unimproved value of not less thai! £40,0Q0; (e) o#t of an area of land whjch the Governor proposes to acquire; by compulsory lease the owner shall be' entitled to retain an area the unimproved value of which does not exceed £5000; (f) subject to the foregoing provisions sections 14 to 37 of the Land j for Settlements Act, 1908, shall apply. The land acquired by the Governor by I way of lease (whether iby agreement or compulsorily) shall be disposed of by way j of sub-lease in the manner provided by the Land for Settlements Act, 1908. In the case of other settlement lands, 1 save that the term of the sub-lease shall j not exceed the term' of the lease, but ! in case the Governor takes a renewal of; the said lease as hereinafter provided,

the sub-lessee shall be entitled to a re-1 nt'wal of the sub-lease on the same | terms and conditions as his first sublease, save that the rent shall be de- . termined by , valuation and arbitration, i as in the case of the renewable leases, j Every sub-lessee shall be at liberty at J any time during the currency of his j term to purchase and the owner shall, I notwithstanding any' obligation imposed upon him by the lease, be at liberty •to J sell the fee simple of the land comprised in such sub-lease at such price as may] be agreed upon between them, not being less than a sum equivalent to. the capitalised value of the rent (calculated at 5 per cent.) as is reserved in such sub-lease. In ease of such purchase the rent reserved by such sub-lease shall cease to be payable and the rental payable by the Crown to the owner under the lease shall be reduced by the amount of the rent reserved by such sub-lease. If a part, but not the whole of the land comprised in the lease, is sold in fee simple to sub-lessees, and if the Governor or owner is called upon under the foregoing provisions to purchase or sell respectively any part of the land comprised in the said lease as remains unsold, there shall be deducted .from the purchase price the amount paid by thjß sub-lessee to the owner for the fee simple of the land comprised in the sublease. . „

THE BILE EXPLAINED.

Wellington, Last Night. Sir J. G.' Ward, replying to Mr. Mas-) sey in the House of Representatives this I evening, outlined the provisions of the Land Bill, which he said, grants to' holders of leases in perpetuity (both of lands for settlement and Crown lands) the right of purchasing the fee 1 simple on paying 25 per cent, of the difference between the original value! and the value ut the date of sale. Endowment lands would remain under the renewable system and be reserved foi purposes of education and old age pen-, sions. All the Crown lands will be held under the optional system. The recurring charges provided for by the Bill of last year are abolished, and the right to pay 90' per cent of the value of the land. Holders of leases in perpeuity are given the right to pay oil the purchase money in 33 years. An important proposal contained in the Bill is one enabling private lands to be acquired from landowners. Lands' representing over £40,000 on the unimproved value, may be acquired by the Crown from private owners by way of lease, either by agreement or compulsion, a lqase to be for 33 years with the right of perpetual : renewal on revaluation. The Crown may buy -or bs compelled by an owner to buy at the .expiration of ten years from the date of the lease, and the Crown may buy at the expiration of twelve months from the commencement of the renewal lease at a price based on the capitalised value of the land, calculated at 5 per bent. It no agreement as to rent is arrived at, the matter is tO be fixed by the Court, but the rent Is not'to exceed 4% per cent, of the 'value of the l&nd, inclusive of improvements. Owners of- lands, so acquired, shall have the right to retain an area not exceeding £SOOO in value. In Hawke's Bay alone the lands available over the valuation referred to would find occupation for 17,000 extra tenants, and in other districts there will be a large increase ,in the number of tenants settled On the land. The : maximum area that 'may (be held by a 1 Crown tenant is reduced to 2500 acres! of third-class,- 2000, acres, second-class^j and 400 acres of first-class land. Settlement under these provisions would , galvanize the life of the whole community, both in town, and country. Settlers would have the right of purchase from land holders on the best terms they could secure, not lower than a sum equal to the rental of 5 per cent, on the capitalised value. On sales being effected, the settler's rent to- the Crown ceases, and the landlord can obtain, the whole increase in the unimproved value up to ten years if he likes to pUsh the sale to settlers, otherwise the Crown takeg the land. If the renewals' are mt taken by the Crown or leases are determined, the Crown makes good to! the owner for any depreciation ifi the land or buildings. If the Crown does not renew or surrender a lease, the settler has to be compensated for his outlay. Special provisions were made to enable leases in mining districts to be ■ converted into freeholds, subject to a warden's consent and cetrain restriction in the title.

Mr. M# wid 'it was impossible at the. present stage to discuss the involved proposals of Th n Bill. T*"- would take another opportunity of doing so.