This Act may be cited as the Maori Housing Amendment Act 1938, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the Maori Housing Act 1935 (hereinafter referred to as “the principal Act”).

The chief executive may by notice published in the Gazette—

When any land has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, been set apart pursuant to this section or is under section 3 deemed to be set apart for the purposes of the principal Act, the District Land Registrar, at the request of the chief executive, shall endorse on the existing certificate of title to the land a memorial that the land is subject to the Maori Housing Act 1935, or if no certificate of title already exists for the land, the District Land Registrar shall issue a certificate in the name of the Sovereign and shall endorse such a memorial thereon; and shall, at the like request, cancel the memorial as to the whole or any part of the land.

For any of the purposes of the principal Act the chief executive may from time to time acquire on behalf of the Crown, whether from a Maori or from any other person, and whether by way of purchase, gift, lease, licence, or otherwise, such lands or interests in land as the chief executive thinks fit.

All land acquired under this section shall, when so acquired, be deemed to have been set apart for the purposes of the principal Act.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Part 21 of the Maori Affairs Act 1953, Maori freehold land required by the chief executive as a site for the erection of rental accommodation for elderly Maori may be acquired by the chief executive by way of gift.

When any land acquired by the chief executive pursuant to subsection (3) is, in the opinion of the chief executive, no longer required for the purpose for which it was given, the chief executive shall arrange for the return of the land to the donors or their representatives, subject, where improvements have been placed on the land by the chief executive, to satisfactory arrangements being made with the donors or their representatives.

The chief executive may from time to time cause to be undertaken and carried out, in connection with any land that is for the time being set apart for the purposes of the principal Act, such works as it thinks fit, including (but without in any way limiting the chief executive’s powers hereunder) the survey, subdivision, reclamation, draining, roading, bridging, fencing, and clearing of the land, the provision of lighting, heating, sanitation, water supply, and other conveniences, and any other works calculated to improve the land or to render it suitable or more suitable for the purposes of the principal Act.

The chief executive may cause dwellings to be erected on any land set apart as aforesaid, and may from time to time alter, enlarge, repair, rebuild, or otherwise improve any dwelling or any other building or erection.

The chief executive, with the consent of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, given either generally or in respect of any particular area of land, may exercise any powers conferred on him or her by this section in respect of any land vested in the Sovereign and subject to the Land Act 1948, notwithstanding that the land has not been set apart for the purposes of the principal Act.

Where any expenditure has been incurred by the chief executive under subsection (3) in respect of any land, the land shall not, without the consent of the chief executive, be disposed of under the Land Act 1948 to any person other than a person nominated in that behalf by the chief executive.

The chief executive may from time to time employ young Maori in carpentry and other trades associated with house building and may from time to time make suitable arrangements for the training of any such persons.

Every young Maori who desires to receive any such employment and training shall execute an agreement with the chief executive setting out the conditions and terms under which the training shall be given, and any such agreement shall be binding upon the parties notwithstanding that any party to the agreement may be under the age of 20 years.

Nothing in the Industry Training Act 1992 or in the Public Service Act 2020 or in the New Zealand Railways Corporation Act 1981 or in the Post Office Act 1959 shall apply to any such agreement.

All dwellings erected or acquired by the chief executive under this Act may be disposed of by way of sale or lease as hereinafter provided.

Except with the consent of the chief executive, no person other than a Maori shall be qualified to acquire a dwelling under this Act by way of sale or lease.

Any dwelling disposed of by way of sale under this Act shall be sold at a price to be fixed by the chief executive.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, every dwelling disposed of by way of sale under this Act shall be disposed of pursuant to an agreement containing such terms and conditions as the chief executive thinks fit.

Where the purchase money is payable by instalments the purchaser shall pay interest on the amount of the purchase money from time to time outstanding at a rate to be determined by the chief executive, not exceeding in any case the current rate fixed under section 10 of the principal Act in respect of advances under that Act.

The chief executive may from time to time, in the chief executive’s discretion, and either unconditionally or upon or subject to such conditions as he or she thinks fit, extend the time allowed by any agreement under this section for the payment of the whole or any part of the purchase money, interest, or other moneys payable thereunder.

For the purpose of securing the payment of any purchase money, interest, or other moneys payable pursuant to any agreement under this section the chief executive may require the purchaser to give such orders or assignments as the chief executive thinks fit over any moneys payable or to become payable to him, whether as the proceeds of the alienation of any land, or as the proceeds of the sale of the produce of any land or stock, or otherwise howsoever.

The provisions of section 18 of the Housing Act 1955 shall apply to agreements under this section in all respects as if references in the said section 18 to Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities were references to the chief executive or to the Crown, as the case may require, the reference in subsection (5) of that section to regulations were a reference to regulations under this Act, and the reference in that subsection to section 37 of the Housing Act 1955 were a reference to section 11 of this Act.

If during the currency of an agreement to purchase any dwelling the chief executive alters, enlarges, repairs, rebuilds, or otherwise improves the dwelling pursuant to the chief executive’s powers in that behalf, the value of the work so done as fixed by the chief executive shall be a debt to the Crown due by the purchaser, and shall be recoverable accordingly, or may be added by the chief executive to the amount of the purchase money for the time being owing under the agreement to purchase.

Where any amount is added to the purchase money as aforesaid the chief executive may, if he or she thinks fit,—

If the purchaser of any dwelling pursuant to an agreement under this Act makes default in complying with the terms of his agreement or with any of the provisions of this Act the chief executive may, in his or her discretion, revoke the agreement upon giving to the purchaser not less than 1 month’s notice in writing of his or her intention so to do; and on the revocation of the agreement the purchaser shall give up possession of the dwelling to the chief executive.

Where any notice revoking an agreement for sale and purchase has been given upon default under the agreement—

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 63 of the Land Transfer Act 1952 or in any other Act, where the chief executive lawfully revokes an agreement for sale and purchase under this Act, the purchaser and all persons claiming through the purchaser shall forthwith vacate the land and yield up possession thereof to the chief executive:

Except with the prior consent of the chief executive, no dwelling that is sold by the chief executive under the foregoing provisions of this Act shall be disposed of by the purchaser by way of sale, lease, mortgage, assignment, or in any other manner whatsoever before a certificate of title has been issued in respect of the dwelling pursuant to the next succeeding section. Every contract of sale, lease, mortgage, assignment, or other disposition in contravention of this section shall be absolutely void.

The chief executive, in the chief executive’s discretion, may refuse his or her consent under this section to any proposed disposition, or may grant his or her consent either unconditionally or upon or subject to such conditions as he or she thinks fit.

Nothing in this section shall apply to any disposition by will in favour of the widow, widower, surviving civil union partner, or child of the purchaser, or to any disposition by operation of law.

On payment of the full amount of the purchase money and of all interest and other moneys payable to the chief executive under an agreement to purchase a dwelling under this Act, the purchaser shall be entitled to receive a certificate of title under the Land Transfer Act 1952 in respect of his dwelling.

Where any land is transferred by the chief executive to such a purchaser, the memorandum of transfer shall disclose that the land so transferred is subject to the provisions of this section, and the District Land Registrar shall enter on the certificate of title issued in the name of the transferee a memorial in accordance with subsection (2).

All land comprised in any certificate of title issued under this section shall be deemed to be General land.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, the chief executive may sell, subject to such terms and conditions as the chief executive thinks fit, any land set apart for the purposes of the principal Act to any person qualified to acquire a dwelling under this Act before the erection or completion of a dwelling on the land.

Where any land is sold under this section, the provisions of section 12, as far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply in all respects as if the purchaser had purchased a dwelling.

The chief executive may dispose of any dwelling erected or acquired under this Act by way of lease. Every lease under this section shall contain such terms, covenants, and conditions, not inconsistent with this Act, as the chief executive thinks fit.

Except with the prior consent of the chief executive, no lease or sublease of any dwelling leased by the chief executive under this Act shall be capable of being assigned; nor, except with the prior consent of the chief executive, shall any sublease of any land so leased be capable of being granted.

The chief executive may refuse consent under this section to any assignment or sublease, or may grant consent either unconditionally or upon or subject to such conditions as the chief executive thinks fit.

Nothing in this section shall apply to any disposition by will in favour of the widow, widower, surviving civil union partner, or child of the lessee or in favour of a Maori, or to any disposition by operation of law.

If in the opinion of the chief executive any lessee under a lease granted under this Act is negligent or careless in the care of the dwelling leased to him, or if for any other reason he is considered by the chief executive to be unsuitable as a lessee, the chief executive may determine the lease.

Any lease granted under this Act may be at any time determined by the chief executive if the lessee commits any breach of the conditions thereof, and in such other circumstances as may be provided in the lease.

A certificate by the chief executive that any lease has been determined under this section shall be conclusive evidence that the lease has been lawfully determined. Upon any such determination the lessee shall not be entitled to any payment, whether in respect of improvements or otherwise.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing provisions of this Act, the chief executive may sell or otherwise dispose of, to such persons in such manner and on such terms as the chief executive thinks fit, any land or buildings acquired or erected for the purposes of the principal Act and not required therefor.

On payment of the full amount of the purchase money and of all interest and other moneys (if any) payable to the chief executive under an agreement to purchase any land under this section the purchaser shall be entitled to receive a certificate of title under the Land Transfer Act 1952 in respect of the land.

The provisions of Part 13 of the Land Act 1924 and of Part 12 of the Maori Land Act 1931 shall not apply to any land or to any interest in land disposed of under this Act.

Amendment(s) incorporated in the Act(s).

No advance shall be made under the said section 3 for the purchase of a dwelling except upon a valuation approved by the chief executive.

All moneys advanced under the principal Act in respect of any land (including a reasonable charge for supervision where the moneys are expended or applied by the chief executive or as the chief executive directs), with interest at the rate determined in accordance with that Act, shall be a charge upon the land, and shall be repayable at such time or times and in such manner as, subject to any regulations made under the principal Act, the chief executive may from time to time determine.

Where any land is subject to a charge created by subsection (1), the chief executive may execute a memorial of charge against the land for the purpose of evidencing the charge.

Where any land is subject to a charge under this section, the chief executive may, by executing a memorial of charge, create a collateral charge over any other land or interest in land of the person whose land is charged under subsection (1) or of any relative of that person who has agreed to his land being so charged:

Every memorial of charge under this section and every agreement required under subsection (3) shall be in such form as may be prescribed by regulations under the principal Act.

A copy of every memorial of charge executed by the chief executive shall be served upon the person or persons whose interest is charged.

The principal money secured under any such memorial of charge shall be due upon the date or dates to be named therein in that behalf, and interest shall be payable on any such principal sum from the date of commencement specified in the memorial with half-yearly rests on the last days of March and September in each year at the rate or rates specified therein, being the rate or rates contained in the principal security for the loan.

A memorial of charge amended under this section or any variation or discharge of any such memorial may be registered against the title to the land affected under the Land Transfer Act 1952 or the Deeds Registration Act 1908. Where any orders of court which constitute the title of or confer title on the person whose interest is charged are not so registered, the memorial of charge may be deposited with the Registrar of the Maori Land Court for filing with the orders of the court. If the said orders or subsequent orders which affect the interest charged are subsequently registered it shall be the duty of the Registrar of the Maori Land Court to send the memorial of charge with the orders for registration and to notify the chief executive that he has done so.

When so registered or deposited a memorial of charge under this section shall have the same force and effect as if it were a valid mortgage to the Sovereign of all the land therein described to secure the repayment of the principal money and the payment of interest thereon; and the power of sale and all other powers implied in mortgages over land by the Property Law Act 2007 shall be implied in the memorial of charge. The production of any certificate of title shall not be necessary for the purpose of registering a memorial of charge under this section against the land in that title.

Any encumbrance registered before the registration of a memorial of charge under this section shall have priority over the memorial of charge:

The chief executive may at any time release or discharge in whole or in part the charge evidenced or created by any memorial of charge executed under this section or may vary any such memorial of charge by reducing the rate of interest or the rate of repayment or by extending the term thereof.

The chief executive may at any time discharge in whole or in part the charge evidenced or created by any charging order made under this section before the commencement of this subsection.

In addition, any charge under section 21, whether registered or not, may from time to time, on the application of the chief executive, be enforced by the court either—

Upon the making of an order under paragraph (b) of the last preceding subsection, the land or interest in land affected by the order shall be deemed to be vested in the Sovereign, subject, however, to any estate or interest having priority to the charge, and the charge shall be deemed to be extinguished.

Subject to the next succeeding subsection, all land that becomes vested in the Sovereign under this section shall be deemed to have been set apart for the purposes of the principal Act.

Without limiting the powers conferred on the chief executive by this or any other Act, the whole or any part of any land that becomes vested in the Sovereign under this section may be proclaimed Crown land under section 265 of the Maori Affairs Act 1953 in the same manner as if it were land purchased by the Crown, and shall thereupon be subject to the Land Act 1948 and be administered and dealt with accordingly. In every such case a sum equivalent to the value of the land as determined by the Commissioner of Crown Lands shall be transferred from the Consolidated Account to such other account as the Minister of Finance shall determine.

The last 3 preceding sections are in substitution for section 8 of the principal Act, and that section is hereby accordingly repealed.

All charges, orders, certificates, registrations, appointments, Proclamations, and generally all acts of authority that originated under the said section 8 and are subsisting or in force on the passing of this Act shall enure for the purposes of this Act as fully and effectually as if they had originated under the corresponding provisions of this Act, and accordingly shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated.

All matters and proceedings commenced under the said section 8 and pending or in progress on the passing of this Act may be continued, completed, and enforced under this Act.

A charge may be constituted or a mortgage may be executed over any land or interest in land pursuant to the principal Act notwithstanding that the land may be a Maori reserve within the meaning of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, or a Maori reservation within the meaning of that Act, or may be otherwise reserved for Maori or declared to be inalienable by any Act, Warrant, will, instrument, or other act of authority.

No mortgage of Maori land or of any interest therein executed in favour of the Sovereign pursuant to the principal Act shall require confirmation under Part 19 of the Maori Affairs Act 1953.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 48 of the Maori Trustee Act 1953 or in any other Act, no commission shall be chargeable by the Māori Trustee on any moneys received for the purposes of the principal Act (including this Act).

The chief executive may from time to time make grants or loans to Maori to enable them to meet the expenses (including valuation fees) of and incidental to applications to the chief executive or to any other body or person for advances, whether under the principal Act or otherwise.

Any proceedings under the principal Act (including this Act) for the recovery of any moneys or for the recovery of possession of any dwelling or land may, if the chief executive so directs, be taken on behalf of the Crown by the Māori Trustee, by suit in its corporate name, or by any other person authorised in writing in that behalf by the chief executive, by suit in his or her own name.

Without limiting the power conferred on the Governor-General by section 14 of the principal Act to make regulations prescribing any matters that may be deemed necessary for the purpose of giving effect to that Act, regulations may be made under that section for all or any of the following purposes:

No regulation made under the principal Act shall be deemed invalid on the ground that it delegates to or confers on the Governor-General or any other person or body any discretionary authority.

See section 14(2) of the principal Act, which provides that regulations made in reliance on this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

All acts of any nature done before the passing of this Act that by virtue of this Act would have been valid and lawful if they had been done after the passing of this Act shall be deemed to have been validly and lawfully done, and, in so far as they are subsisting at the passing of this Act, shall enure for the purposes of this Act as fully and effectually as if they had originated under the appropriate provisions of this Act, and accordingly shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated.