From a recent question by a reader it is clear that there are still many myths out there about cross-lease and unit titles.
First, let's take cross-lease titles - one myth is that the next door neighbour can use your garden to grow their vegetables without your permission. Another is that there are no rules about parking on the driveway and that there are no rules about what you can do with your flat.
With unit titles there are myths about how expensive unit titles are to live in or how they are only for high-rise apartments and how difficult it is to work out what is going on in a unit title development.
There are many cross-lease properties throughout New Zealand, though they are more popular in certain parts of the country than others. The use of cross-lease titles has been on the wane for several years as councils now allow people to create fee simple titles rather than use the cross-lease form of subdivision.
However, for those many cross-leases that still exist, there are clear rules and obligations for owners.
In many cross-leases (although not all) each person has an exclusive use area of their garden where they can carry on planting a vege patch to the exclusion of all the other owners and can definitely stop another owner from trying to dig up their vege patch.
As to driveways, these are generally common driveways for the use of everybody to come and go but not to park. A lot of arguments erupt around various owners and visitors parking on the driveway or obstructing owners but this is definitely a no-no.
However, there are some limitations for cross-lease flats and unit titles in regard to adding rooms on or up without permission and consent of other owners. Council consent must be obtained, neighbours' consent must be obtained within the cross-lease owners or unit development.
So if you want to add another room to your cross-lease property, then you may need to alter the flat's plan which should be factored into the cost of the process. Proper survey and legal advice needs to be taken before you add another room to a cross-lease flat.
Unit titles are used for all manner of buildings, not only high-rise apartments. However, as high-rise apartments have sprung up in the bigger centres around New Zealand over the last five to 10 years, they have become the principal method of creating titles.
That is exactly what the Unit Titles Act was devised for in 1972. From the outset, however, unit titles have been also used for low-rise or single storey developments, and industrial and commercial developments.
There are many well-managed, well-organised unit title developments around New Zealand. There are a large number of professional body corporate secretaries usually attached to real estate firms that take pride in their work. These secretaries manage financial and other aspects of the group of owners in the body corporate.
