Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill: new power for mortgagees to partition land for mortgagee sales …

The draft Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill released earlier this year contains both old and new provisions relating to the powers of mortgagees (i.e. the bank) of Maori land.

The Bill contains similar provisions to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 which allow mortgagees to sell Maori freehold land to buyers outside of the Bill’s preferred categories of buyers.

Significantly, the Bill also contains a new provision which may permit mortgagees to partition (subdivide) Maori land for mortgagee sales. In order to partition Maori land, mortgagees will have to take the following steps:

1. Prepare a survey plan that defines the new parcel or parcels of the land.
2. Prepare an allocation scheme which defines the ownership of the new parcel or parcels of the land.
3. Attain the agreement to the partition of any person who holds certain interests relating to the Maori land, including for instance lease and licence holders.

This provision will give mortgagees another option for exercising any power of sale over Maori land in the event of the landowners defaulting on their loan.

The draft Bill was released earlier this year for consultation and the government is currently considering submissions it received during this process. It plans to introduce the Bill to Parliament early next year.