Do you need consent to buy or build a home in New Zealand?
You can buy or build a home in New Zealand to live in without applying for consent if you:
are a New Zealand citizen, whether you are living here or not
have a New Zealand residence class visa and are ordinarily resident in New Zealand
are an Australian or Singaporean citizen buying residential land only
are an Australian or Singaporean citizen and are ordinarily resident for ‘residential and otherwise sensitive’ land
are an Australian or Singaporean permanent resident and are ordinarily resident
are the partner or spouse of any of the above.
Ordinarily resident in New Zealand
People who need consent and are eligible to apply
You need consent and are eligible to apply to buy or build a home to live in if you:
have a New Zealand residence class visa but are not yet ordinarily resident
are an Australian or Singaporean permanent resident but are not yet ordinarily resident
are an Australian or Singaporean citizen but are not yet ordinarily resident wanting to buy residential land that is classed as otherwise sensitive land, for example, land next to a river or the sea, or non-urban land over a certain size.
Once consent is granted there are conditions you will need to meet.
People who are not eligible for consent to apply
You cannot buy or build a home in New Zealand to live in if you are an overseas person and have a temporary, limited, interim or transit visa – for example, a student visa, work visa or visitor visa – or if you do not hold any visa.
If you are unsure, check if you need consent to buy or build a home to live in using the tool on the New Zealand Now website.
Buying or building a house in New Zealand – New Zealand Now(link is external)
Buying with a spouse or partner
If you are married, in a civil union, or in a de facto relationship, you do not both need consent if you are buying the home as relationship property.
If one partner meets the requirements to apply for consent or is not an overseas person, they are able to apply. The other partner does not need to apply, regardless of their visa status.
The legislation covering spouses is in the Overseas Investment Regulations 2005.
Buying through a trust or company
You can apply for consent to buy a home to live in using a trust or a company. This is a complex area of law and you will need the help of a New Zealand property or trust lawyer.
To be able to get consent, all of the people who own or control the trust or company must be “qualifying individuals”. This means people who are either:
New Zealanders
ordinarily resident here
holders of residence class visas, or
Australian and Singaporean citizens and permanent residents.
All the people that we consider own or control the trust or company will be required to live in the house.
When to apply for consent
If you need consent, you must apply for it as early in the purchase process as possible. Your lawyer needs to have your Overseas Investment Office consent number before you can complete the purchase.
You can:
apply for pre-approval before you have found the property you want to buy, or
sign a sale and purchase agreement without consent, provided that the agreement is conditional upon obtaining consent under the Act.
If you sign an unconditional agreement without consent, you may face significant penalties and have to sell. If you make a false statement, you could be fined up to $300,000.
Residential land statement
When you are ready to buy a home, you will need to complete a Residential Land Statement to confirm you are eligible to buy. Your lawyer will help you do this.
Residential Land Statement (PDF 4MB)
