Manukau Property Disputes Lawyers and Their Work
Manukau Property Disputes Lawyers – Saving Your Money and Stress
Manukau property disputes lawyers help a range of people and organisations. These can be businesses, landlords, tenants, body corporates, and property developers. The general public rarely hears of property disputes outside of landlord and tenant issues, yet they are surprisingly common. Here we look at some ways that property disputes lawyers in south Auckland help their clients.
Types of Property Dispute
Tennant and landlord issues are by far the most common property dispute, yet most of these are handled by the Tenancy Tribunal so generally do not involve lawyers.
Instead Manukau property dispute lawyers are likely to be involved in issues like land ownership
issues such a sale and purchase disputes, lease disagreements, boundary challenges, easements and rights of way, fencing disputes, and title problems.
For apartment blocks or multi-unit buildings, unit title or body corporate matters are common. These can be between occupiers and the body corp, the body corp and a tenant, or the body corp against a third-party such as an insurance company.
In property development some matters can be construction delays or build quality, treatment of waste or contaminated land.
Andy many more.
Why do Property Disputes Arise?
Many property issues come about because of historical misunderstandings or inaccuracies about title deeds. The boundary on the title or survey plan may not be accurate or inconsistent. The details of the owner may be in error. Covenants or easements may need clarification.
A small error can result in significant levels of property dispute. The errors can appear in a wide range of places including title deeds, Sale and Purchase Agreements, council records, or even surveyor reports.
Other common issues can be due to misunderstandings of tenants’ or lessors’ rights or obligations. For example, is the tenant required to restore the property to the original state when they vacate?
Types of Work From Manukau Property Dispute Lawyers
Some of the more common tasks that property dispute lawyers in South Auckland will be involved in include, in the first instance, advice or a general overview of the particular case. The lawyer will reference the relevant legislation like the Land Transfer Act 2017, the Property Law Act 2007, the Fencing Act 1978, and the Unit Titles Act 2010.
They are going to advise their client on their rights and obligations, and possible remedies that may ensue. The lawyer will also give an indication about the possible outcome or chance of success for their client. Is it worth pursuing the matter given the risk or cost compared to a possible reward? In New Zealand, property disputes lawyers usually aim to resolve matters early through negotiation rather than alternative methods like mediation, arbitration or ultimately, going to court.
If the dispute is between neighbours, a negotiated settlement is the preferred option so as to retain some form of ongoing cordial relationship. This can be a simple as writing a formal letter to explain the legal situation to the other side. Misunderstanding is often the cause of a dispute so, often, clarification is all that is needed to achieve a resolution.
Dispute Resolution
Negotiation is the preferred method but if that does not achieve a result, then mediation managed by a property dispute lawyer is a good option. This can be escalated to arbitration whereby a lawyer listens to all the arguments and then makes a decision which is binding on all parties.
If people do not want arbitration, the final option is a court, whether District or High, depending on the value of the dispute. However, a case going to court will take both a lot of time and money.
Manukau Property Disputes Lawyers – Conclusion
As with most legal issues, the sooner you can see a lawyer the better. It is also likely to cost less as a resolution might be reached before too much legal time and expense is incurred.
If you have any form of issue, talk to one of the Manukau property disputes lawyers at McVeagh Fleming. They have lawyers experienced in most types of property dispute and know the locality.