2023 Property Syllabus – Majorly Different!  Or is it?

18 February 2023

 

At first glance it appears that the 2023 Property syllabus is very different compared to previous years.  However, in NZLPE PREP’s opinion all that really has happened is that the extraneous “clutter” topics that were not tested often have been removed, and the actual topics that candidates need to understand in order to grasp NZ property laws have been spelled out.

 

These sections are gone:

• The Mechanics of the Land Transfer System

• Schemes for personal ownership of flats, home units and offices including: the "cross-lease" scheme facilitated by the combined effect of sections 56 and 278 of the Property Law Act 2007; “unit titles" under the Unit Titles Act 2010

• The regulation of residential tenancies under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986

 

What is the actual impact of these changes???

 

The sections that were removed were not tested very often, except for unit titles; however, the 2010 Act resolved most of the issues that had been tested.  Removing these sections helpfully cuts down on extraneous cases in an already massive syllabus.

 

The biggest query seems to be whether candidates still need to know the old Land Transfer Act 1952.  Most of the references to the LTA 1952 have been removed. 

 

Our take is that you still need to understand the basics of the LTA 1952 because it states in the 2023 Prescription Property Introduction:

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"While the general principles of New Zealand’s land transfer system has not changed by the replacement of the Land Transfer Act 1952 with the Land Transfer Act 2017, candidates should be familiar with the key differences brought by the new legislation and the rationales of such changes."

 

So you need to understand the old LTA in order to know what "key differences" were brought about by the new LTA 2017.  But we do not think you need to for instance memorise the old LTA 1952 sections word for word.  The NZLPE PREP Property Notes discuss these "key differences" in depth.

 

You do need to know the older cases decided under the LTA 1952 per the Introduction:

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“includes (a) the land transfer system under the Land Transfer Act 2017 and Land Transfer Regulations 2018 (with reference to pre-existing case law decided under the Land Transfer Act 1952);”

 

We think you should be familiar with the Land Transfer Regulations 2018 since it is mentioned; however, we note that the entire standalone section of "mechanics" which included the process of registration, has been removed from the syllabus.  So we think you need to be aware of how registration works without getting bogged down by the details. 

 

Interestingly the most-often tested section “Indefeasibility under the Land Transfer System” has changed to “The Land Transfer System”.  Do not be misled into thinking indefeasibility is no longer a major topic.  It is the keystone to land law in NZ and you must understand it thoroughly. 

 

Other misleading changes:

• Caveats have been "taken out" as in there is not a separate section, but it is listed as an exception to indefeasibility, so you still need to cover that topic. 

• Some fairly major topics have been “snuck in”, which actually is a reflection of topics that have been tested all along, but were not highlighted in the old syllabi –“the law on conflicts between the Land Transfer Act with other statutes, in particular the conflicts between the Land Transfer Act and Te Ture Whenua Māori/Māori Land Act; the issues of protecting unregistered interests, such as trusts, Māori interests in land, in personam claims, and caveats.”