*|IF:FNAME|*
Dear *|FNAME|*,
*|ELSE:|*
Hello,
*|END:IF|*
Well, we’ve turned the corner and Christmas is almost upon us, but there’s still time for those legal tidy-up jobs if you call us soon. At this time of year will updates and enduring powers of attorney are particularly good things to get seen to.
Also, if you have a family trust, you’ll want to make sure it’s updated before the new Trusts Act takes effect on 30 January 2021. Put that at the top of the list if you haven’t already.
Will property continue to boom?
It seems hardly a day goes by without property prices in the headlines. ASB senior economist Mike Jones is calling the market “a housing boom that won’t let up;” Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens expects house price inflation to reach 15% by mid-2021; and, closer to home, our builder clients are reporting strong demand in their industry.
So does that make it a good time to be in the rising residential property market? We think so. This week the Prime Minister said that the Government’s goal is “sustained moderation” for house prices. That might mean taking some measures to slow the rise, but nothing significant. One change we could see is an extension of the bright-line test. The test requires:
Either way, it’s unlikely we’ll see prices go in the other direction any time soon, so if you’re looking to invest in residential property, it would seem sensible to act now. Our property lawyers are available to help.
Tenants' Damage: a liability for property managers?
A recent High Court decision may well open the door for landlords to hold property managers to account for damage caused by tenants—at least in certain circumstances.
In the case, Sainty, the defendant property management company had taken over management of the plaintiff property owners’ residential rental properties, making a range of representations about the quality of their services—which were later called into question.
That company found them a replacement tenant for one of the properties, and had made various positive statements about that tenant. The company failed to get a written tenancy agreement or get the full bond amount.
Two and a half years into the tenancy, the plaintiffs visited their property to discover the tenants had significantly damaged it and contaminated it with methamphetamine. The property management company had only inspected the property two times in the tenancy period, even though they’d promised to do so “up to four times a year”.
On the facts, and the way the action was brought, the plaintiffs’ claim was dismissed. But it showed that, in the right circumstances, a property manager could owe a professional duty of care to their client landlords.
It’s a reminder to property managers to act with utmost care and professionalism—and for their property owner clients to choose wisely.
Dotcom headed home for Christmas?
Remember Kim Dotcom? He's still here in New Zealand, but maybe not for long. A recent Supreme Court decision may mark a step towards extradition for he and his co-defendants back to the United States over copyright allegations.
But the case raises some interesting implications for internet service providers and online storage companies in New Zealand, per an item in ADLS.
Traditionally these companies are not liable for copyright-infringing material on or passing via their servers, if they’re not aware of it, or they take appropriate action when made aware of it. But the question turns on some vague language, and here it suggests that Dotcom’s company Megaupload wasn’t doing enough to avoid liability.
What that means next for other internet providers is unclear, and unlikely to be cleared up by any copyright decisions by the Supreme Court in the near future—it’s rare such cases reach there. However, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s review of the Copyright Act 1994 might help tidy the law. With technological developments creating issues that didn’t exist even a decade ago, it’s certainly something that’s needed.
Privacy Act changes now in place
Another area of law which is undergoing rapid change thanks to technology is privacy. The new Privacy Act 2020 is now in place, and aims to create greater privacy protections for individuals, and place new obligations on businesses and organisations.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner explores the changes in detail, but in summary:
That’s it for our news this month—and for 2020, in fact. As you’ll no doubt hear many times this month, it’s not been quite the year any of us were expecting. We know that our friends, family, colleagues and clients faced a lot of challenges, as did everyone else out there.
But we’re proud and grateful to have worked with so many of you throughout it all. Helping you achieve what you need to achieve is a genuine privilege.
We’ll be taking a break to enjoy the festive season and gear up for 2020. Our office closes 5pm Wednesday 23 December, and will reopen 8:30am 18 January 2021. We’ll look forward to chatting with you again then.
Also, if you have a family trust, you’ll want to make sure it’s updated before the new Trusts Act takes effect on 30 January 2021. Put that at the top of the list if you haven’t already.
Will property continue to boom?
It seems hardly a day goes by without property prices in the headlines. ASB senior economist Mike Jones is calling the market “a housing boom that won’t let up;” Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens expects house price inflation to reach 15% by mid-2021; and, closer to home, our builder clients are reporting strong demand in their industry.
So does that make it a good time to be in the rising residential property market? We think so. This week the Prime Minister said that the Government’s goal is “sustained moderation” for house prices. That might mean taking some measures to slow the rise, but nothing significant. One change we could see is an extension of the bright-line test. The test requires:
- those who sell residential property…
- … that isn’t their main home…
- … within five years of purchasing…
- … to pay income tax on any capital gains.
Either way, it’s unlikely we’ll see prices go in the other direction any time soon, so if you’re looking to invest in residential property, it would seem sensible to act now. Our property lawyers are available to help.
Tenants' Damage: a liability for property managers?
A recent High Court decision may well open the door for landlords to hold property managers to account for damage caused by tenants—at least in certain circumstances.
In the case, Sainty, the defendant property management company had taken over management of the plaintiff property owners’ residential rental properties, making a range of representations about the quality of their services—which were later called into question.
That company found them a replacement tenant for one of the properties, and had made various positive statements about that tenant. The company failed to get a written tenancy agreement or get the full bond amount.
Two and a half years into the tenancy, the plaintiffs visited their property to discover the tenants had significantly damaged it and contaminated it with methamphetamine. The property management company had only inspected the property two times in the tenancy period, even though they’d promised to do so “up to four times a year”.
On the facts, and the way the action was brought, the plaintiffs’ claim was dismissed. But it showed that, in the right circumstances, a property manager could owe a professional duty of care to their client landlords.
It’s a reminder to property managers to act with utmost care and professionalism—and for their property owner clients to choose wisely.
Dotcom headed home for Christmas?
Remember Kim Dotcom? He's still here in New Zealand, but maybe not for long. A recent Supreme Court decision may mark a step towards extradition for he and his co-defendants back to the United States over copyright allegations.
But the case raises some interesting implications for internet service providers and online storage companies in New Zealand, per an item in ADLS.
Traditionally these companies are not liable for copyright-infringing material on or passing via their servers, if they’re not aware of it, or they take appropriate action when made aware of it. But the question turns on some vague language, and here it suggests that Dotcom’s company Megaupload wasn’t doing enough to avoid liability.
What that means next for other internet providers is unclear, and unlikely to be cleared up by any copyright decisions by the Supreme Court in the near future—it’s rare such cases reach there. However, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s review of the Copyright Act 1994 might help tidy the law. With technological developments creating issues that didn’t exist even a decade ago, it’s certainly something that’s needed.
Privacy Act changes now in place
Another area of law which is undergoing rapid change thanks to technology is privacy. The new Privacy Act 2020 is now in place, and aims to create greater privacy protections for individuals, and place new obligations on businesses and organisations.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner explores the changes in detail, but in summary:
- Notifiable privacy breaches: Businesses or organisations will be required to notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as soon as possible if they experience a privacy breach that causes serious harm to someone, or is likely to do so.
- Compliance notices: The Privacy Commissioner can require a business or organisation to do something or stop doing something if it is not meeting its Privacy Act obligations.
- Binding decisions on access requests: The Privacy Commissioner can make binding decisions on complaints relating to access to information.
- Disclosing information overseas: New Zealand businesses or organisations may only disclose personal information to an overseas agency if it has a similar level of protection to New Zealand, or the person to whom the information pertains allows it.
- Extraterritorial effect: The Privacy Act applies to overseas businesses or organisations dealing with New Zealanders, even if those businesses or organisations do not have physical presences in New Zealand.
- New criminal offences: It's now a criminal offence to mislead a business or organisation by impersonating someone, or pretending to act with another person's authority, to gain access to their personal information. It's also an offence to destroy a document containing personal information, knowing that someone has requested access to that information.
That’s it for our news this month—and for 2020, in fact. As you’ll no doubt hear many times this month, it’s not been quite the year any of us were expecting. We know that our friends, family, colleagues and clients faced a lot of challenges, as did everyone else out there.
But we’re proud and grateful to have worked with so many of you throughout it all. Helping you achieve what you need to achieve is a genuine privilege.
We’ll be taking a break to enjoy the festive season and gear up for 2020. Our office closes 5pm Wednesday 23 December, and will reopen 8:30am 18 January 2021. We’ll look forward to chatting with you again then.
Regards,
Clive, Grant and the Team at Canterbury Legal
