If you own rural land with pockets of native bush or wetland, you might be interested to know that the rules around the creation of Transferable Titles and in-situ environmental lot subdivisions have changed. While these changes may seem minor, they will have a significant impact on some rural property owners. 

In late 2024, the Environment Court issued a decision providing clarity on how Auckland Council must interpret the rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan relating to Transferable Titles and environmental lot subdivisions. In a nutshell, this change in the rules means that many rural property owners who were previously unable to subdivide or transfer titles from their property may now have the ability to do so. 

Under the Auckland Unitary Plan, rural property owners can acquire the right to subdivide by carrying out certain actions deemed favourable by the Council. In some respects, these rules may be regarded as an incentive scheme, with the right to subdivide as the reward. The actions Council promotes under the rules include the amalgamation of rural lots, creation of conservation covenants over bush or wetland areas, the surrender of consented lots from a resource consent, and the revegetation of wetland and native bush. This “right to subdivide” can be sold to a third party for monetary consideration and is known as a transferable title. The ability to transfer the right to subdivide from one property (referred to as the Donor Property) to a separate property (the Recipient Property) is the defining characteristic of a Transferable Title. This ability to transfer subdivision rights has led to the establishment of a market for Transferable Titles across Auckland. 

The impact of the Environment Court decision is that owners of rural properties with fragmented native bush or wetland areas (i.e., areas of native bush and wetland that are not part of a continuous area) may still be eligible to carry out in-situ subdivisions or create Transferable Titles, provided that the non-continuous or fragmented areas of native bush or wetland meet the required threshold under the Auckland Unitary Plan. Under this new interpretation, the Council may no longer require the bush or wetland on your property to be located in the same area for the rules to apply. For many property owners, this could be a game changer. 

The sale and purchase of a Transferable Title is almost always carried out pursuant to a contract between the owner of a Donor Property and the owner of a Recipient Property. Such contracts outline the obligations of each party and contain terms and conditions designed to protect each party's interests in the transaction. Since the sale and purchase of Transferable Titles is a specialist area, it is important to engage a solicitor with the appropriate experience and expertise. 

If you previously explored whether you might be eligible to create Transferable Titles on your land before the 2024 decision but were disappointed, you may now benefit from considering whether your land might be eligible under the new interpretation provided by the Environment Court. 

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