Facebook - What the Fine Print Says

Chances are if you are a business, you are already using Facebook to promote your business, build brand awareness and interact with your customers. You may even be using Facebook to sell your goods or services.

If you have a Facebook Business Page then you will have agreed to Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities ("Statement") and a number of policies such as the Data Policy, Platform Policy, Payment Terms and Advertising Policy and Self-serve ad terms.

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Reviewing Your Relationship Property Agreement: Nothing Lasts Forever

“Nothing endures but change”

So said Heraclitus some 2500 years ago, and his observation still rings true today.  A relationship property agreement reflects a snapshot of your and your partner’s circumstances at the time it was signed. The recent case of Clayton v Clayton [2015] NZSC 30 sharply illustrates the need to consistently review and update your agreement.

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Legal Landscape - Christmas Edition

With the holiday season upon us and looking forward to the New Year, this edition rounds out 2016 with our seasons greetings from the Partners and Staff at Brookfields.

Christmas Closedown Period

Please note our offices will be closed from 5pm Friday 23 December 2016, fully reopening on Wednesday 18 January 2017.

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Entitled to a Title Without Subdivision Consent?

We are aware of a number of instances where interests in camping grounds and other areas have been sold with a “title” based on a licence to occupy a specified portion of land as shown on a plan secured by an encumbrance and a share in the land as a tenant in common with other owners, or similar arrangements.

In the recent decision of Re Spark New Zealand Trading Ltd (“Spark”) involving the sale of land under an agreement for sale and purchase (“the agreement”) where covenants were attached to the agreement, two judges of the Environment Court had to decide whether the agreement, together with the proposed transfer of a share in the land as tenant in common, constituted a sub-division of the land.

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A Landlord's Guide to Leasing to Franchise Tenants

Franchising is serious business in New Zealand.  If you go to any mall in New Zealand you will find a number of the outlets are operated by franchise tenants.  In fact there are probably more than you think.

To some extent, leasing to a franchise tenant is no different to leasing to any other commercial tenant.  However, there are issues which a landlord should be aware of and take into consideration when leasing premises to franchisee.

Who is the tenant?

Often franchisors negotiate the terms of the lease but the tenant will be the franchisee.  Other times franchisors will negotiate and enter into the lease either themselves or via a special purpose company specially set up to hold the lease and then they will sublease or licence the premises to the franchisee.

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NPS on Urban Development Signed Off

A few months ago we looked at Minister Nick Smith's 2 June announcement that the proposed National Policy Statement (NPS) on Urban Development Capacity was available for public consultation.

On 31 October 2016, the Minister announced that the Government had signed off on that NPS, and that it would take effect from 1 December. 

The councils experiencing the highest growth will be most affected.  That means Auckland, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton are in the frontline.  Fast-growing cities like Nelson and Queenstown are also affected. 

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