The drafters of the Act clearly understood the dynamics of Māori land and Māori land owners. Accordingly, under the Act the engaged owners presently make decisions about their land through the legal structures of trusts and incorporations.
Documents/Judges-corner-articles/MLC-2014-Jun-Judges-Corner-Ambler-J.pdf (191 kb)
This brought the Māori Land Court record into the computer age with details of Māori land blocks and their owners being accessible nationwide, without owners having to travel to the Māori Land Court where the land was located to get information.
Its purpose was to register all outstanding Māori Land Court orders relating to Māori land ownership in LINZ.
As a result, from time to time the Māori Land Court receives applications to extend existing urupā, or to set aside Māori freehold land, or sometimes General land owned by Māori, as new urupā reservations.
The Māori Land Court In 2003, the Minister of Māori Affairs applied to the Māori Land Court for an inquiry pursuant to s 29 TTWMA as to successors to the four remaining SILNA blocks.
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
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
Documents/Maori-Land-Data/Maori-Land-Update-2014.pdf (572 kb)
Any owner or interested person may use this form to apply to the Court to call or direct the Registrar to call a meeting of assembled owners for any Māori Freehold land or General Land owned by Māori to consider 1 or more resolutions for those matters set out in section 172 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (attached as a schedule to this form) Office use: Application: ACCEPTED / REFUSED Dated: ...........................................................
Documents/Forms/MLC-Form-32-Application-to-call-meeting.pdf (135 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.
