Ngā kupu ture
Legal terms

Māori freehold land has gone through the Māori Land Court (or what was known as the Native Land Court) to be divided into blocks and converted into freehold titles. Converting land into titles was implemented by the settler government to move away from traditional collective guardianship.  

Māori freehold land blocks often have many owners which have been decided by whakapapa (genealogy/connection) to that whenua. In legal terms, this is referred to as the ‘preferred class of alienee’.

Māori freehold land is the most common type of Māori land. Today, there is around 1.47 million hectares of freehold land, about six percent of all land in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Before the arrival of settlers, all land in Aotearoa was Māori customary land. Māori customary land has been held by Māori continuously since the introduction of the land ownership system in Aotearoa New Zealand and has not been divided into blocks or converted into freehold titles. This land is held in accordance with tikanga Māori, and unlike Māori freehold land, and there are no ‘legal owners’ of Māori customary land. However, there are hapū, iwi, and whānau that whakapapa to this land and may have used it for generations.

If you are wanting to convert Māori customary land into freehold land, you can apply to the Court under section 132 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act.

Only a small number of customary land blocks remain in Aotearoa New Zealand and they total less than 700 hectares.

General land owned by Māori is privately owned by an individual or a collective. Depending on the circumstances of the owners, it may be determined by the Court to be subject to Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993.

A will is a legal document that states how a person wants their estate (finances, assets, property) to be managed and distributed after they pass away.

Formal administration / letters of administration is where the High Court confirms legal authority to a person to manage the estate of someone who has passed away. This authority can be confirmed even when there is no will.

Probate is where the High Court confirms a will's contents and appoints the person(s) to administer it.

A certified copy is a photocopy of a legal document (e.g. passport, death certificate) that has been stamped by a person legally authorised to take statutory declarations and confirm that the copy is a true copy of the original document. This person may be a lawyer, notary public, Justice of the Peace, court official, court registrar, or New Zealand Police Officer of a certain rank.

Title is the legal description of a piece of land and evidence of the owners of that land.

A land block is a piece of Māori freehold land.

Land interests are what a block of land is divided into. A landowner will own interests in that land.

Shares are what an incorporation is divided into. A shareholder will own a certain number of shares in an incorporation.

Beneficiaries are the people who benefit from any development(s) from a trust or block of land.

Vest/vested is when a legal change of ownership from one person to another is made.

Alienation is when a landowner gives certain rights on/over their land to another person.

Absolute ownership is where interest(s) or share(s) are owned by the person. Absolute interests are not subject to any other restrictions or orders (not in a trust, not a remainder interest or a life interest).  

People who own land jointly. The interests are not split between them – they are co-owners. If one owner dies, the other joint tenant(s) automatically succeed to the interest that the deceased joint tenant held.

The Court can award a life interest, usually to the deceased’s surviving spouse or civil union partner, which entitles them to receive income from the estate. The life interest does not entitle the life tenant to any other portion of the estate. It is limited to income (e.g. rents or interest) and excludes capital (e.g. purchase money or compensation for land). When the life tenant dies or re-marries, their life interest ends, and the estate passes to the next-of-kin of the person from whom the interest came (usually their children).

An interest in an estate that becomes fully effective only when the life interest ends (often referred to as an interest in expectation). For example, a life interest may be awarded by the Court in favour of a surviving partner of a person who hold an interest in Māori land. The children or other persons entitled are then listed as the remainderman.