Chapter F9 Improvement of roads

F9.7 W/C 331 and 332: Property purchase

Definition: work cateogry 331

Property purchase (state highways)

This work category provides for the purchase of land by the NZTA for road purposes.

Examples of qualifying activities

Examples of qualifying activities for work category 331 include:

• valuation
• legal surveys
• acquisitions
• compensation.

Audit requirements

All costs must be identified by project and available for audit. A land plan must also be available for audit purposes. The plan must indicate the area of land to be purchased and the part that is to be converted to road reserve. Each individual property should be identified on the plan.

Definition: work category 332

Property purchase (local roads)

This work category provides local RCAs with funding assistance to acquire the portion of land that is to be converted to road, where the cost of the land is greater than or equal to $50,000.

Funding assistance

Funding assistance is paid at the time of construction/implementation, based on the greater of the purchase price or current market value.

Where an exchange of land is undertaken between a private landowner and an RCA, or where land is vested in an RCA by a private owner as the result of a requirement to do so without monetary payment for the land, the transaction does not qualify for funding assistance. However, where payment of land transfer fees or stamp duty is involved, these can be included as acquisition costs.

Legalisation surveys, including plan fees payable to Terralink, are to be treated as part of the land acquisition cost. No other expenses involved in the legalisation process are eligible for funding assistance.

Any payment for betterment recovered in terms of s326 of the Local Government Act 1974 shall be a credit to the cost of the project - for detail on betterment, see section F10.2.

Audit requirements

Where property funds are requested, the requesting authority must have a land plan available for audit purposes. The plan must indicate the area of land to be purchased and that part which is to be converted to road reserve. Each individual property should be identified on the plan.

Where land is purchased and surveys are undertaken before the work appears in the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), such expenditure becomes an RCA charge until the work is approved for construction/implementation.

Exclusions

This work category excludes:

• property costing less than $50,000 per project - this is included in the project's construction/implementation cost
• the portion of property acquired in excess of the minimum roading requirements - this is not eligible for funding assistance.