A law change intended to land transfer laws into the 21st century, giving property owners better protection and making it easier to register property, has passed its first reading in Parliament this week.

Land Information Minister Louise Upston says the Land Transfer Bill will replace the more than 60 year old Land Transfer Act – which she says doesn't adequately reflect the realities of the 21st Century.

Property sale laws are being updated.

'The Land Transfer Bill will better protect property owners from the pitfalls they face today,” says Louise.

'It includes new provisions to prevent mortgage fraud, to protect Māori freehold land, and to extend the Registrar-General's powers to withhold personal information to protect someone's personal safety.”

The Bill will also include some measures to take time and effort out of registering and transferring property.

'The Land Transfer Act is focused on paper-based transactions – at odds with today's electronic land title registration system – and its language is archaic, complex and difficult to understand.

'The new Bill will simplify and modernise the focus of the property transfer system, and make it easier for people to understand what they need to do and how to do it," says Loiuse.

'In doing so, it will make life that much easier – and safer – for those who own, or are buying, property in New Zealand."