Leasehold property in New Zealand
LINZ records 30,289 live leasehold titles, 1.2% of all live titles: 26,877 ground leases and 3,412 leasehold units in unit-title developments.
What leasehold means
A leasehold owner holds a lease of the land (or a unit) for a term, not the land itself, and usually pays ground rent to the landowner. Ground rent is often reviewed at set intervals, and the lease says what happens when the term ends: some are perpetually renewable, others end. Lenders and buyers look closely at the time left, the next rent review and how the rent is set. The lease document itself is the only reliable source for any of this.
Stated lease terms
| Stated lease term, as written on the title | Titles |
|---|---|
| Stated term has ended | 1,445 |
| Under 10 years left | 456 |
| 10 to 50 years left | 1,364 |
| More than 50 years left | 14,211 |
| Term mentions renewal | 6,832 |
| Term not stated or not readable | 5,981 |
A stated term that has ended does not mean the lease has ended: many leases are renewable, or have been renewed or varied by a later document that this count does not read.
By council
| Council | Leasehold titles | Share of all titles | Under 10 years left | More than 50 years left | Term mentions renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburton District | 87 | 0.4% | 2 | 6 | 56 |
| Auckland | 5,221 | 0.8% | 84 | 536 | 1,366 |
| Buller District | 142 | 1.5% | 4 | 49 | 51 |
| Central Hawke's Bay District | 166 | 1.4% | 1 | 121 | 13 |
| Central Otago District | 114 | 0.6% | 5 | 32 | 28 |
| Christchurch City | 917 | 0.5% | 44 | 38 | 255 |
| Clutha District | 140 | 0.8% | 6 | 9 | 46 |
| Dunedin City | 545 | 0.9% | 17 | 21 | 363 |
| Far North District | 234 | 0.5% | 5 | 25 | 101 |
| Gisborne District | 306 | 1.2% | 4 | 5 | 76 |
| Gore District | 38 | 0.4% | 1 | 20 | 9 |
| Grey District | 445 | 4.2% | 4 | 0 | 389 |
| Hamilton City | 1,264 | 1.8% | 7 | 923 | 117 |
| Hastings District | 2,344 | 6.1% | 7 | 2,195 | 93 |
| Hauraki District | 30 | 0.2% | 1 | 16 | 4 |
| Horowhenua District | 47 | 0.2% | 2 | 10 | 22 |
| Hurunui District | 57 | 0.6% | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| Invercargill City | 253 | 0.9% | 8 | 181 | 45 |
| Kaikoura District | 20 | 0.6% | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Kaipara District | 33 | 0.2% | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Kapiti Coast District | 471 | 1.7% | 2 | 409 | 26 |
| Lower Hutt City | 758 | 1.7% | 5 | 679 | 52 |
| Mackenzie District | 130 | 2.0% | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Manawatu District | 27 | 0.1% | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| Marlborough District | 284 | 0.9% | 16 | 60 | 103 |
| Masterton District | 61 | 0.4% | 5 | 7 | 24 |
| Matamata-Piako District | 119 | 0.6% | 2 | 81 | 28 |
| Napier City | 2,470 | 8.4% | 13 | 1,599 | 250 |
| Nelson City | 3,017 | 8.7% | 11 | 2,836 | 111 |
| New Plymouth District | 697 | 1.7% | 17 | 164 | 429 |
| Ōpōtiki District | 35 | 0.6% | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Ōtorohanga District | 178 | 2.0% | 4 | 8 | 130 |
| Palmerston North City | 153 | 0.4% | 11 | 65 | 48 |
| Porirua City | 112 | 0.5% | 2 | 57 | 42 |
| Queenstown-Lakes District | 964 | 2.4% | 1 | 78 | 32 |
| Rangitikei District | 53 | 0.5% | 3 | 3 | 29 |
| Rotorua District | 1,018 | 3.1% | 23 | 472 | 313 |
| Ruapehu District | 77 | 0.7% | 0 | 2 | 49 |
| Selwyn District | 80 | 0.2% | 3 | 2 | 36 |
| South Taranaki District | 328 | 1.7% | 2 | 5 | 122 |
| South Waikato District | 34 | 0.3% | 0 | 12 | 16 |
| South Wairarapa District | 23 | 0.3% | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Southland District | 70 | 0.3% | 2 | 5 | 37 |
| Stratford District | 57 | 0.9% | 3 | 7 | 30 |
| Tararua District | 181 | 1.5% | 0 | 162 | 7 |
| Tasman District | 545 | 2.3% | 4 | 221 | 241 |
| Taupo District | 570 | 2.0% | 19 | 132 | 230 |
| Tauranga City | 1,586 | 2.4% | 15 | 1,119 | 312 |
| Thames-Coromandel District | 160 | 0.5% | 6 | 85 | 14 |
| Timaru District | 57 | 0.2% | 8 | 2 | 18 |
| Upper Hutt City | 326 | 1.7% | 0 | 305 | 18 |
| Waikato District | 149 | 0.4% | 6 | 12 | 45 |
| Waimakariri District | 38 | 0.1% | 2 | 0 | 24 |
| Waipa District | 242 | 1.0% | 5 | 151 | 33 |
| Wairoa District | 68 | 0.9% | 2 | 52 | 5 |
| Waitaki District | 135 | 0.8% | 3 | 17 | 56 |
| Waitomo District | 34 | 0.5% | 2 | 4 | 14 |
| Wellington City | 1,348 | 1.5% | 8 | 835 | 250 |
| Western Bay of Plenty District | 169 | 0.6% | 0 | 37 | 37 |
| Westland District | 76 | 0.9% | 6 | 2 | 34 |
| Whakatane District | 318 | 1.8% | 7 | 121 | 156 |
| Whanganui District | 335 | 1.4% | 7 | 173 | 112 |
| Whangarei District | 284 | 0.6% | 7 | 17 | 195 |
Counted from LINZ NZ Property Titles and Title Estates as at 30 September 2026. Suburbs that straddle two councils are counted under the first council LINZ lists. This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Unit titles · Find suburbs
More guides
- Cross-lease explained: What a cross-lease is, flats plans and converting to freehold
- Granny flat rules: The 2026 rules for a small stand-alone dwelling
- LIM reports: What a LIM report includes, what it costs and how long it takes
- Moving to New Zealand: Compare New Zealand towns and cities on rent, income and climate
- Unit titles and body corporates: Unit titles and developments by council
- All suburbs: Every suburb page, by council