Need to confirm the current legal owner?
Use an official title or owner search rather than relying on agent copy, maps or third-party directories.
- Legal Owner Search: best when your main question is who currently owns the property.
- Record of Title Current with Diagram: use this when you also need legal description, interests and title diagram.
Quick decision: what should you order?
If you are checking this property because of rating valuations and your property title in new zealand, start with the official title record and then order any registered instruments that explain the restrictions, rights, or notices listed on the title.
Order legal owner search →What to check before relying on this property information
A New Zealand title search is not just a name check. It can show the legal description, registered owner details where available, mortgages, caveats, easements, covenants, consent notices and other interests that may affect how the property can be bought, sold, financed or developed.
For practical due diligence, read the title in layers: first confirm the property identifier and ownership, then review every registered interest, then decide which supporting documents you need to order. The supporting instrument is often where the useful detail lives: the width of an access right, the wording of a covenant, the benefiting land for an easement, or the actual restriction attached to a consent notice.
Common red flags
- Old or unclear easements: access, drainage or service rights may affect where you can build or renovate.
- Restrictive covenants: these can control building materials, use, subdivision, fencing or future development.
- Caveats and notices: these may point to disputes, claims or obligations that need legal review.
- Boundary or plan uncertainty: if the diagram matters, order the title with diagram or survey plan before making assumptions.
A simple due diligence workflow
- Order the current title record for the correct property.
- Match the title identifiers against the address, legal description and any sale documents.
- List each registered interest on the title.
- Order the instrument document for any interest that could affect access, use, value or finance.
- Ask your lawyer or conveyancer to review anything that changes your risk before you go unconditional.
This guide is general information only and does not replace legal advice. For purchase, lending, subdivision or dispute decisions, use the title documents as evidence and get professional advice before committing money.
