Government measures in key jurisdictions 3rd edition final - Flipbook - Page 89
New Zealand
Property
Have any changes
been made to
the laws around
property, rent and
enforcement?
Many commercial property leases include a clause providing for an abatement of a “
”
of rent and outgoings if the property cannot be used during an emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic is
an emergency in terms of those leases, but the question of what is a fair proportion is to be negotiated
between the landlord and tenant depending on their own particular circumstances.
The Government is also making a change to legislation to imply this type of clause into any lease which
does not already contain one. The legislation will also provide for compulsory arbitration (subsidised for
small businesses) if an agreement cannot be reached on the amount of the abatement. Details of the
operation of the standard lease clause are available here, and of the changes to the legislation are
available here.
The Government has also made changes to the powers under the Property Law Act 2007 (PLA) in respect
of
and the powers for Mortgagees to take
possession or sell mortgaged land.
The changes mean that a landlord now needs to wait thirty working days (rather than the previous ten
working days) before they can cancel a lease for rental arrears. This change will be in place until the end
of 2020.
Two significant changes were made to residential property rentals; restrictions on termination, and
prohibitions on rental increases.
For three months,
•
•
•
•
unless:
the tenant terminates the tenancy;
the tenancy is terminated with the written agreement of both the landlord and the tenant;
the termination is in accordance with some specific provisions such as death of the sole tenant,
abandonment, or serious damage; or
an order is made by the Tenancy Tribunal terminating the tenancy for anti-social behaviour.
Fixed tenancies which expire during this time will continue as periodic tenancies and will then be subject
to the same termination restrictions.
For six months,
under a residential tenancy. In addition, any increase
notified before the commencement date, which have not yet taken effect, will no longer apply.
The Overseas Investments Act regulates the purchase of assets in New Zealand by overseas people,
including the purchase of any “sensitive land”. The Government has introduced a temporary emergency
notification regime designed to ensure that sales of business assets or business interests to overseas
investors as part of the economic recovery phase (particularly “distressed” sales) are in New Zealand’s
national interest.
The emergency notification regime requires all share or business asset purchase transactions to be
notified to the OIO if an overseas person is:
•
•
•
acquiring an ownership interest of more than 25%;
increasing an existing ownership interest to or beyond certain ownership thresholds (50%, 75% or
100%); or
acquiring business assets representing 25% or more of an existing business.
The wording of the change means that the sale of land and buildings could be captured by the
emergency notification regime where they are used as part of a business, even if the relevant land is not
“sensitive land”. Details on the changes to the overseas investment regime are available here.
Government measures in key jurisdictions
89