The goal of this paper is to unfold the legal framework of land law in New Zealand.

The course addresses the legal concept of real property as a central element of private law, introducing the principles of law that relate to ownership of land as they operate in New Zealand. It aims to produce an understanding of the historical origins of the rules of common law and equity and the registration of title under the Land Transfer Act before turning to specific issues. It seeks to emphasize the evolutionary nature of legal doctrine, the close relationship between judge-made law and statute, and the application of legal doctrines to distinctively New Zealand situations, notably bicultural situations. It deals with the latter by emphasizing elements of the general land law that are especially important in the bicultural context, and by drawing examples from a diversity of sources. Elements of land law that have rural, coastal or environmental significance are emphasized. Use is made of conveyancing materials in order to make the discussion of concepts more concrete. The course does not, however, teach drafting, conveyancing or the law of contractual relations between vendor and purchaser.

This is a whole-year paper. The teaching component comprises Lectures and Tutorials.

(i) Lectures:

The primary teaching will occur in one two-hour lecture and one one-hour lecture per week. It is scheduled for Monday, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and Wednesday, 11:00 am to 12:00 noon, in the Lecture Theatre L.G.02.

(ii) Tutorials:

Each student will participate in six (6) one-hour tutorials during the year.

There are seven (7) tutorial groups this year. Please refer to the online timetable for any times and places for tutorials. You are required to sign up tutorial groups when they are available.

For all Tests, and for the Final Examination, the format and coverage will be advised closer to the time. It is the policy of this Faculty to mark course work within five weeks, at least one week before the examination or final internal assessment, and before the University deadline for finalization of grades.

Online support for this paper is provided via Moodle.

If you require assistance with Moodle, or encounter any problems, please contact the Help Desk. You can send a message to Help Desk by using the instant message service in your paper (from the participants list within the People block). Alternatively, you can email them directly at help@waikato.ac.nz or call 838 4008.

Students should expect to spend 200 hours in total on this paper. In addition to lecture attendance, significant time will need to be spent on background and complementary reading. Students should allow for periods of more-focused research time in the preparation of assignments. Contact hours for Land are lectures (48), tutorials (6) and final examination (3); totalling 61 hours. Two hours private study for each contact hour is a minimum, for a likely minimum of 200 hours. Treat your study like a professional career! Successful students report that they spend 6-8 hours per week for each paper in private study. Much of that time should, from the earliest stages of the course, be devoted to reading the text, statute and casebook in advance of lectures, and to integrating understanding from reading, from lectures, and tutorials.

It is assumed that Land Law students are taking Equity at the same time. If not, they should be prepared to put extra effort into understanding principles of equity relevant to Land Law.