Title Retrieval

Rapu Taitara Whenua

Electronic property title records are called records of title or Certificates of Title.

They prove the ownership of land and the rights and any restrictions that apply to the land.

The Certificate of Title is specific to the property you are buying and has a record of things that can have an impact on what you can do with the property and any access you need to provide to others.

What they're used for

Consent Applications including:

resource consent
building consent
subdivision consent applications.
pre-purchase diligence.
identifying owners, rights and restrictions, and property boundaries.

When you need a Certificate of Title

If you're applying for a building or resource consent, you need to have background land information that can be found in a Certificate of Title.

All resource consent applications and most building consents need a Certificate of Title that is not older than 3 months.

Note: Resource consent applications where the value of work is $5000 or less do not require a Certificate of Title.

What's included in a Certificate of Title

Certificate of Title reference number
Current property owners
Past property owners
Property size
Legal description and area
Registered rights and restrictions
Consent notices
Building line restrictions
Plan or diagram of the land

How to get a Certificate of Title

You can get Certificates of Title, and land records from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) or Masterton District Council.

You can get a copy of a Certificate of Title and a copy of any interests on the title such as a covenant, consent notice, easement or lease by:

completing a Record of Title Application (PDF, 82KB)
sending it to planningadmin@mstn.govt.nz or dropping it to the Customer Service Centre at 161 Queen Street Masterton
paying a fee of $35

Once the fee has been paid, a member of the planning team will retrieve your Record of Title and send it to you.