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Whenua & ownership
What Māori freehold land is, how shares work, and finding your records.
What is Māori freehold land?
Māori freehold land is land whose beneficial ownership has been determined by the Māori Land Court. It is governed by Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, which aims to keep the land with whānau across generations.
Read the guide →How Māori land shares work
A share is your proportional interest in the whole block. It shows how much of the block you own as a fraction — not a particular piece of land that is yours alone.
Read the guide →Finding your whenua records and paperwork
Good records make every next step easier — succession, trusts, occupation and building all start with knowing the block, the owners and the orders that already exist.
Read the guide →Māori Land Court processes
Succession, occupation, partition and choosing the right application.
Māori land succession
Succession is the Māori Land Court process that passes a deceased owner’s interests to their successors. Interests stay in the deceased person’s name until a succession application is made.
Read the guide →Occupation orders
An occupation order is a Māori Land Court order that lets an owner (or certain whānau) occupy a defined part of a block — often a house site. The Court considers the owners and others affected before making one.
Read the guide →Licence to Occupy (LTO)
A Licence to Occupy is an agreement with the owners or authorised trustees giving a person defined permission to occupy part of a block on agreed terms. It is not ownership, a lease or a Court occupation order.
Read the guide →Partition of Māori land
A partition is a Māori Land Court process that divides a block into separate parcels with their own titles. It is a legal title process, not just a line drawn on a map.
Read the guide →Which Māori Land Court process do I need?
Start with what you want to achieve. Most common goals map to a specific Court application — and Form 1 covers anything without its own form.
Read the guide →Trusts & governance
Whānau trusts, Ahu Whenua Trusts, trustees and raising concerns.
Whānau trusts vs Ahu Whenua Trusts
A whānau trust pools a person’s or whānau’s interests for their descendants. An Ahu Whenua Trust is set up over a block so trustees can manage the whenua for all its owners. They do different jobs.
Read the guide →What is an Ahu Whenua Trust?
An Ahu Whenua Trust is the most common way Māori freehold land is governed. The Court appoints trustees to manage the whenua on behalf of all the owners, whose beneficial interests remain.
Read the guide →Trustees: their role and changing them
Trustees govern a trust on behalf of its owners or beneficiaries. Adding, replacing, reducing or removing trustees is a Māori Land Court process.
Read the guide →When trustees aren’t responding, or you have concerns
Start calmly: separate facts from concerns, ask clearly in writing, and use meetings of owners. If problems continue, the Māori Land Court has a role in overseeing trusts.
Read the guide →Building & papakāinga
Returning home, planning papakāinga, consents and site investigations.
Returning home to your whenua: where to start
Living on Māori land usually needs the owners’ or trustees’ agreement and a recognised arrangement — not just whānau permission. The journey has a few clear steps.
Read the guide →Planning a papakāinga
A papakāinga is several homes planned together on Māori land. It needs owner support, council approval and shared services — and it starts with a shared whānau vision.
Read the guide →Resource consent and building consent
Council approvals usually come in two separate parts: resource consent (land use and effects) and building consent (the building itself). Not every project needs a resource consent; most new homes need a building consent.
Read the guide →Site investigations for a house site
Site investigations answer different questions. One report rarely covers everything — commission only what your site needs.
Read the guide →Finance & funding
Kāinga Whenua loans and working out what a project really costs.
Kāinga Whenua home loans
Kāinga Whenua is a home-loan scheme for building or buying a home on multiply-owned Māori land, provided through Kiwibank with Kāinga Ora involvement.
Read the guide →Working out the full cost of a home or papakāinga
Work out the full cost before choosing finance. The house is only part of it — site works, services, fees and contingency often add a large amount.
Read the guide →