Section 455 of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 provides the Māori Land Court with the jurisdiction to identify successors and successors’ interests in SILNA lands.
Other status types As this update is specifically for Māori Customary Land and Māori Freehold Land it excludes the following land status types that fall within the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court: Crown Land Crown Land Reserved for Māori General Land (which maybe vested in a Māori Land Trust) General Land Owned by Māori (which maybe vested in a Māori Land Trust); Ownership Only (ownership interes...
Documents/Maori-Land-Updates/Maori-Land-Update-2014.pdf (572 kb)
Other status types As this update is specifically for Māori Customary Land and Māori Freehold Land it excludes the following land status types that fall within the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court: Crown Land Crown Land Reserved for Māori General Land (which maybe vested in a Māori Land Trust) General Land Owned by Māori (which maybe vested in a Māori Land Trust); Ownership Only (ownership interes...
Documents/Maori-Land-Data/Maori-Land-Update-2014.pdf (572 kb)
Use this form when exchanging some or all of your interests in Māori Land by sale or gift with some or all of the Māori Land interests of a different owner in a different block of Māori Land.
If the trustees acquire further land or other assets for the purposes of the trust, that land becomes trust land, and the other assets become trust property.
Documents/Guides-Templates-Factsheets/Ahu-Whenua-Trust-Order-Template-18082025.pdf (444 kb)
FEE: $ 233.00 CHECKLIST OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: List of owners, trustees and their addresses Statement setting out how the alienee is a member of one of the preferred classes of alienees (if applicable), including any necessary whakapapa details Roll valuation or special valuation of the land and any improvements to it by a registered valuer (as applicable) MĀORI LAND COURT CONTACT DETAILS Applications should be lodged with the Registrar in the Māori Land Court Distric...
Documents/Forms/MLC-Form-32-Application-to-call-meeting.pdf (182 kb)
Judges acting as mediators Kaiwhakawā Wilson Isaac Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu Judge Wilson Isaac was appointed to the Māori Land Court in March 1994. He was appointed as Deputy Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court in 1999 and the Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court, and Chair of the Waitangi Tribunal in August 2009.
In accordance with tikanga Māori there is no distinction to be drawn between whenua (land) that is dry and land that is covered by the sea.
Documents/Judges-corner-articles/JWI-ACPECT-Presentation-2022.pdf (540 kb)
1 Māori Land Update – Ngā Āhuatanga o te whenua June 2025 | Hune 2025 This update is issued by the Office of the Chief Registrar, Māori Land Court | Te Kooti Whenua Māori to provide key statistics on Māori land, including the number and total area of Māori Customary Land (MCL) and Māori Freehold Land (MFL) blocks, and how many of these are managed by trusts or incorporations versus those that are not.
Documents/Maori-Land-Data/2025-10-28-MLC-Maori-Land-Update-2025.pdf (229 kb)
You will also need to be clear what the plan is for building on the land, including who the housing is for. Contact a Māori Land Court offices for further information about building on Māori land.
