Find out about buying or building a home in New Zealand to live in and whether you will need consent to do so.

New Zealand citizens and permanent residents of New Zealand who meet the requirements to be ‘ordinarily resident’ can buy property without restrictions.

Overseas people usually cannot buy a house or land in New Zealand.

If you have a residence class visa but you are not yet ‘ordinarily resident’, you can buy or build one home to live in as long as you get consent from Toitū Te Whenua before you buy.

You can apply for pre-approval that lasts up to a year. We recommend this option as it is the most flexible form of consent.

The rules for buying or building one home to live in apply to land the Overseas Investment Act defines as ‘residential land’. This means land that has a property category of'residential’ or ‘lifestyle’ on the District Valuation Roll.

option as it is the most flexible form of consent.

The rules for buying or building one home to live in apply to land the Overseas Investment Act defines as ‘residential land’. This means land that has a property category of ‘residential’ or ‘lifestyle’ on the District Valuation Roll.

Residential land

Residential land can be sensitive for other reasons, including if the residential land is on an island, next to a beach or river, or next to a conservation area. If the land is otherwise sensitive, you will need additional consent to buy it.

Sensitive land

If you are an Australian or Singaporean citizen or permanent resident, different rules will apply. You may need consent to buy some types of property.

You can be penalized for breaking the overseas investment rules, so we recommend that you get legal advice.

Contact our Investment team

Send us a note to learn more about how we can help you find your next investment opportunity, and one of our team members will contact you shortly.