By Steven Lee - 13 Nov 2018
Under the amended Overseas Investment Act
(Amended OIA), which
took effect from 22 October 2018, any transaction involving the
sale and purchase of residential property by an overseas person is
subject to consent from the Overseas Investment Office
(OIO) unless an exemption
applies.
In this blog, we focus on residential
property developers who intend to sell units in their developments
to overseas persons and provide an overview of the considerations
these developers will need to make under the Amended OIA.
Exempt or not?
The starting point for all residential property developers is to
find out whether there are any exemptions that apply to them.
Exemptions are available to residential property developers who
are developing land that is:
- Residential and not otherwise sensitive land under the OIA;
and
- Used or intended to be used to build one ore more multi-storey
buildings consisting of least 20 residential dwellings.
(Exemption Criteria)
These exemptions are not available to developers who are merely
subdividing greenfield or brownfield land and not building or
building only terraced dwellings.
Exemptions
There are two useful exemptions available to residential
property developers who fit the Exemption Criteria: one is the
Transitional Exemption Certificate and the other is the Exemption
Certificate.
Developers who have committed to the development and commenced
at least one genuine presale (even if it is conditional) before 22
October 2018 may apply for a Transitional Exemption Certificate to
continue selling up to 100% of the units in that development to
overseas persons.
Developers who have not commenced presales before 22 October
2018 may only apply for the Exemption Certificate which allows them
to sell up to 60% of the units in their development to overseas
persons.
If you need any assistance in obtaining a Transitional Exemption
Certificate or Exemption Certificate, we can assist you step by
step in the process of applying to the OIO for such exemption,
including advising you what you will need to provide to the OIO for
a successful application.
In our next blog, we will talk about how overseas buyers of
residential land are affected by the Amended OIA and the
considerations they will need to make under the Amended OIA.
Please follow our updates to find out more.
Contact Steven
Lee on +64 9 300 7608 or steven@martellimckegg.co.nz
or Genelle Seah on +64 9 300 7620 or gs@martellimckegg.co.nz
to find out more.