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1926. NEW ZEALAND.

LAND TRANSFER AND DEEDS REGISTRATION. ANNUAL REPORT OF DEPARTMENT, 1925-26.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command oj His Excellency.

Head Office, Stamp Duties Department, Wellington, Ist June, 1926. The Hon. the Minister op Stamp Duties, Wellington. I have the honour to submit the usual report on the working of the Land Transfer and Deeds Registration Department for the year ended the 31st March, 1926. My report as Registrar-General of Land is also included. The returns appended show— A. The business transacted under the Land Transfer Act. ]3 The fees received thereunder, including the fees received on account of Crown grants. 0. The mortgages and discharges of mortgages, and the amount remaining secured by mortgage under the said Act on the 31st March, 1926. D, The arrears existing at the various Land Transfer Offices at the close of business on the same date. The number of deeds received for registration and the number remaining unrecorded on the 31st March last, also the fees received in the Deeds Registration Offices. The following table shows at a glance the amount of registration business under the Land Transfer and the Deeds Registration Acts transacted during the last five years : —

The Land Transfer (Compulsory Registration of Titles) Act, 1924, came into operation, and the work directed by it to be done was commenced on the Ist April last. lam pleased to be able to report that the Act is working very smoothly, and appears to be giving general satisfaction both to property-owners whose titles were not under the Land Transfer Act and to the legal profession. It is the aim of the Registrars in bringing the old system titles under the Land Transfer Act to do so, "iving as little trouble or expense as possible to owners of land. During the year 8,095 titles were examined and certificates of title issued, and the fees on 2,515 of these have already been paid. C. E. Nalder, Registrar-General of Land, and Secretary for Land and Deeds.

Year ended 31st March. 1922. ' 1923. 1924. j 1925. J 1926. Instruments .. •• -• •• 154,394 136,028 154,805 168,523 188,622 Searches (Land Transfer Act only) .. 29,761 35,468 45,205 43,965 45,577 Fees, excluding fees under compulsory £86,157 £83,473 £94,635 £100,623 £106,526 Registration Act, 1924.

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A.—Statement of Business transacted under the Land Transfer Act during the Year ended 31st March, 1926.

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Applications. ""ufow^Grante'" ° £ Transfers. Mortgages. Town and Suburban. Country. » Town and Suburban. I Country. Town and Suburban. Country. District. ; — . A rea. r ; - j | | Area. I Value. | Area. Value. | Tgrn | j Are, | Area. | Area. ~ | Area . Amount 1 Suburban. | | S 2 * - Acres. £ Acres. £ Acres. Acres. Acres. £ Acres. £ Acres. £ Acres. £ Auckland .. 80 111 177,253 47 8,701 152,525 309 205 22,006 9,139 4,027 6,311,410 2,602 626,477 4,463,571 8,805 3,456 5,698,256 3,267 854,717 4,076,366 Taranaki ..13 7 12,803 3 250 6,954 80 13 12,608 963 338 509,333 623 103,054 992,896 920 350 710,903 1,093 266,545 2,058,267 Wellington .. 38 26 61,345 11 5,010 121,102 228 56 22,070 5,394 1,055 3,982,072 2,334 199,942 4,506,971 6,741 1,462 5,251,877 3,543 776,705 6,727,371 Hawke's Bay .. 5 6 6,300 3 1,934 19,960 24 3 3,523 1,083 584 734,314 462 120,233 1,237,498 1,036 570 620,353 685 208,950 1,502,652 Gisborne ..1 1 70 .. .. .. 57 37 6,363 507 333 303,527 283 137,327 669,449 456 267 302,862 356 293,319 788,415 Nelson .. .. 2 .. 2,700 3 107 1,208 57 28 2,276 374 129 173,331 267 126,800 280,042 400 131 173,794 353 158,050 374,932 Marlborough ..5 6 16,195 3 309 11,335 9 .. 1,426 130 102 73,483 134 54,297 227,793 149 139 392,945 183 216,133 326,912 Canterbury ..87 19 79,922 59 6,282 216,302 55 1,259 5,072 5,394 1,171 3,367,606 1,226 250,351 2,920,326 4,841 119,042 2,920,598 2,047 771,729 3,394,852 Otago .. .. 24 11 41,515 11 2,769 25,507 67 21 4,107 2,422 545 1,787,667 658 215,556 884,693 2,559 499 1,341,857; 763 413,198 1,272,695 Southland ..15 7 29,240 5 358 6,455 57 14 11,004 1,068 325 539,765 594 149,118 1,055,374 1,118 325 571,906 901 329,721 1,204,052 Westland 7 | 713 .. .. .. 23 4 489 ; 244 59 74,515 137 24,296 100,324 131 29 47,903 71 13,591 57,428 Totals, 1925-26 .. 277 j 194 428,056 145 25,720 561,348 966 1,640 90,944 126, 718 8,668 17,857,023 9,320 2,007,451 17,338,937 27,156 126,220 18,033,254 13,262 4,302,658 21,783,942 Totals, 1924-25 .. 293 876 656,417 130 25,626 I 628,908 761 378 59,642 25,902 8,589 17,801,887 8,387 2,007,984 15,823,735 23,986 8,189 16,294,629 11,231 4,066,690 17,778,010 _ 1 I I +3 CO ■—? 1 1 ' .J, ® f!| (hi £3 m Discharges. .Sec B, Certificates of Title S • ,1 tl '! •§ I £ • "5 $ &£ w issued (other than ® ® Ph p z SzzS 2 !Z • a a °-§ SS « ® - «:§ «« CertMcates in lieu f g I S 3 ?? I ° £? o ° * I fs § S * DMriCt - i J J of Crown Grants.) # | _ J gf % 3 °gg | , ■' 8 § ? If* Ml S J< I 5 1 I : Amount. g S g| —" g> I 1 f »§■ | § § &§ % || f| f ! S|» "§11 ifl-S 1 g S |_ j I" BegUtration.[ <*■"• I |_ J t 5 1 I*" & 1* t I g" * I I <_ £ | £ s. d. £ s. d. Auckland .. 8,610 7,089,233 4 320 j 1,183 5,507 32 3 523 413 932 262 32 296 195 12,347 657 315 1,261 21 105 7,740 25,565 13 1 657 15 11 Taranaki .. 1,906 1,800,967 .. 69 202 453 8 1 270 33 140 97 18 58 52 2,219 174 158 244 .. .. 1,300 4,022 0 9 37 10 0 Wellington .. 7,812 8,484,554 5 422 j 2,097 3,261 21 5 530 152 459 180 56 243 78 8,241 480 298 1,045 .. 24 3,317 17,952 18 7 38 5 11 Hawke's Bay .. 1.517 1,864,365 .. 136 888 593 8 .. 196 11 117 120 15 76 34 2,141 71 94 273 1 1 1,258 3,817 9 9 0 17 3 Gisborne .. 736 1,043,470 12 21 186 405 2 2 95 20 69 204 14 51 21 1,321 13 112 130 1 .. 918 2,120 5 2 0 2 11 Nelson .. 675 451,740 1 36 450 262 24 6 30 59 132 .. 5 18 37 602 6 52 128 .. .. 429 1,752 7 3 Marlborough .. 243 513,247 3 16 402 98 19 1 8 29 35 20 2 17 16 385 3 28 62 1 160 679 19 0 Canterbury .. 4,810 4,026,203 .. 411 1,532 2,364 17 6 205 49 471 2 158 19 9,169 161 570 944 4 3,637 15,170 19 0 Otago.. .. 2,457 1,779,217 7 58 478 1,022 10 4 252 66 96 3 18 65 25 3,093 56 180 506 3 2 1,674 6,398 11 10 Southland .. 1,693 1.441,759 .. 42 447 557 82 2 87 27 116 4 4 38 19 2,061 70 137 285 1 777 4,029 8 0 Westland .. 157 92,521 .. 32 230 71 3 46 56 22 7 14 303 26 34 80 .. 263 785 19 2 Totals, 1925-26 30,616 28,587,347 32 1,563 8,095 14,593 226 30 2,242 915 2,589 890 166 1.027 510 41,882 1,717 1,978 4,958 26 138 21,473 82,295 11 7 734 12 0 Totals. 1924-25 26,379 24,829,868 33 1,215 .. 13,445 169 12 2,130 1,073 2,481 881 235 1,049 514 40,622 1,275 2,068 4,986 71 100 15,713 74,909 13 0 3,018 6 8

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B.—Return of Fees received under the Land Transfer Act for the Year ended the 31st March, 1926.

C. —Return showing the Total Amount of Money secured by Mortgage under the Land Transfer Act on the 31st March, 1926.

Return showing Number and Amount of Mortgages under Land Transfer and Deeds Registry released in each District from Ist Ajiril, 1925, to 31st March, 1926. District. Number. Amount. Auckland .. ... ... ... ... 12,219 9,450,483 Taranaki ... ... ... ... ... 2,202 2,016,607 Wellington ... ... ... ... ... 8,792 9,464,167 Hawke's Bay ... ... ... ... 1,909 2,306,763 Gisborne ... ... ... ... ... 782 1,083,809 Nelson ... ... ... ... ... 982 644,226 Marlborough... ... ... ... ... 342 828,209 Canterbury ... ... ... ... ... 5,109 4,236,339 Otago ... ... ... ... ... 3,212 2,256,743 Southland ... ... ... ... ... 1,921 1,572,962 Westland ... ... ... ... ... 170 97,836 Totals ... ... ... 37,640 £33,958,144

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District. General Fees. Assurance Fees. ConjpuUory Regis- £ s. d. . & s. d. £ s. d. Auckland . 25,565 13 1 657 15 11 358 15 0 Taranaki ... ... ... ... 4,022 0 9 37 10 0 703 15 0 Wellington... ... ... ... 17,952 18 7 38 5 11 737 10 0 Hawke's Bay ... ... ... 3,817 9 9 0 17 3 63 15 0 Gisborne ... ... ... ... 2,120 5 2 0 2 11 197 10 0 Nelson ... ... ... ... 1,752 7 3 ... 61 0 0 Marlborough ... ... ... 680 7 0 ... 393 15 0 Canterbury... ... ... ... 15,170 19 0 ... 127 10 0 Otago ... ... ... ... 6,398 11 10 ... 183 15 0 Southland ... ... ... ... 4,029 8 0 ... 185 0 0 Westland ... ... ... ... 780 19 2 ... 133 10 0 Totals ... ... ... 82,295 19 7 734 12 0 3,145 15 0 Corresponding period, 1924-25... 75,471 3 8 2,553 18 8

Amount remaining Amount secured by . • , fM , Amount remaining District secured by Mort- j Mortgage during aa ee Daid off durine secured by MortD,stricfc - gage on the the Year ended g T e P s tme Period gage on the 31st March, 1925. 31st March, 1926. Sclme jrenoa - 31st March, 1926. £ £ £ £ Auckland ... 60,331,231 9,774,622 7,089,233 63,016,620 Taranaki ... 18,338,219 2,769,170 1,800,967 19,806,422 Wellington ... 55,887,968 11,979,248 8,484,554 59,382,662 Hawke'sBay ... 20,159,420 2,123,005 1,864,365 20,418,060 Gisborne ... 11,391,216 1,091,277 1,043,470 11,439,023 Nelson ... ... 3,767,723 548,726 451,740 3,864,709 Marlborough ... 4,003,676 719,857 513,247 4,210,286 Canterbury ... 41,570,012 6,315,450 4,026,203 43,859,259 Otago ... ... 13,584,601 2,614,552 1,779,217 14,419,937 Southland ... 11,974,848 1,775,958 1,441,759 12,309,047 Westland ... 882,546 105,331 92,521 895,356 Totals ... 242,391,460 39,817,196 28,587,276 253,621,381

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D. —Return showing Arrears in the Land Transfer Department on the 31st March, 1926.

Other Instruments unrecorded. District. Transfers. Mortgages. Miscellaneous. Auckland ... ... ... 115 104 159 Taranaki ... ... ... ... 32 43 78 Wellington ... ... ... 127 158 279 Hawke's Bay ... ... ... ... 19 31 49 Gisborne ... ... ... ... 4 5 4 Nelson Marlborough ... Canterbury ... ... ... ... 85 75 126 Otago ... ... ... ... 19 36 36 Southland ... ... ... ... 29 36 52 Westland ... ... ... ... 2 2 1 Totals ... ... ... 432 490 784

E.—Return showing the Number of Deeds remaining unregistered on the 31st March, 1925; the Number received for Registration and the Number registered during the Year ended the 31st March, 1926; also the Number remaining on that Date, and the Amount of Fees collected during the same Period.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given; printing (505 copies), £7.

By Authority : W. A. G. Skinner, Government Printer, Wellington.— 1926.

Price 3d,

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Applications (other than T t • *. j a i* ■ i • . • « i • i • ,0 , Unregistered XT . . Application Applications Applications those already Instr ° ments Unregistered Gertificates 7 ecelved awaiting detained for mentioned) 0 ;<-;n<y Instruments , . , District. Compliance Examination received c lian g ce detained Title due bufc P 0urrent with in the during the m the no t issued. Month not Requisitions. SurveyOffice. Requisitions . Survey Office. yet passed passed. Auckland ... 73 32 2 102 53 134 Taranaki ... 9 6 1 59 13 35 5 Wellington ... 10 10 4 141 66 156 Hawke's Bay... 1 ... ... 35 21 47 1 Gisborne ... ... ... ... 9 1 5 Nelson ... 1 12 ... 13 ' Marlborough... 2 1 1 1 ... 1.2 Canterbury ... 4 10 ... 51 20 28 Otago ... 5 ... 2 72 ... 69 , 10 Southland ... 3 1 1 12 ... 54 Westland ... 6 ... ... 10 ... 1 I ! Totals ... 113 60 12 | 504 174 543 1 18

Received Unrecorded _ . ? r Recorded Unrecorded _. t . on Registration duri on Dlstr,ot - 31st March, during 'j 1 ® the same 31st March, Fees - 1925. *T,? nde , d 1926. 31st March, 1926. £ s. d. Auckland ... ... ... 496 13,977 14,154 391 12,462 2 6 Taranaki ... ... ... 15 1,125 1,119 21 936 16 0 Wellington... ... ... 58 3,673 3,596 133 3,244 5 0 Hawke's Bay ... ... 70 1,888 1,770 188 1,766 4 0 Gisborne ... ... ... 1 157 158 ... 114 9 0 Nelson ... ... ... 60 1,185 1,240 5 1,000 4 0 Marlborough ... ... 4 439 443 ... 385 19 6 Canterbury... ... ... 51 1,833 1,825 38 1,608 7 0 Otago ... ... ... 237 3,581 3,599 217 3,268 5 0 Southland ... ... ... 17 861 819 59 794 3 0 Westland ... ... ... ... 65 65 ... 68 16 3 Totals ... ... 1,009 28,784 28,788 1,052 25,649 11 3