Somewhere on the property listing, in small type, you'll see one of three words: freehold, cross-lease, or unit title. It's easy to skim past. You shouldn't. It's one of the biggest factors in how straightforward (or not) your purchase is going to be.
The one-line answer
Freehold means you own the land and the house outright. Cross-lease and unit title both mean you share ownership of the underlying land with your neighbours, in different ways, which changes what you're actually buying and how carefully it needs to be checked.
Freehold (fee simple)
This is the simplest and most common title type, and the one most buyers picture when they think "own a house." You own the land and the dwelling on it outright, with your name on the title and nobody else's approval needed to build a deck or change the fence line. If a property's title type isn't mentioned, it's usually freehold.
Cross-lease
A cross-lease property sits on land owned jointly by everyone on the site (often two or three homes), with each owner then leasing their specific dwelling and a bit of exclusive-use land back from the group, usually for 999 years. In practice it behaves a lot like owning your own home, with one major catch.
The catch is the flats plan. This is the diagram that defines exactly what each owner is entitled to, down to the shape of the building. If a previous owner extended the house, added a deck, or altered the footprint without updating the flats plan and getting the other owners to agree, the title no longer matches what's actually built. That's a real and common problem in New Zealand, especially in Auckland, where cross-lease is widespread.
Why it matters to you as a buyer:
- Unconsented or unregistered changes are your problem once you own it. Fixing a mismatched flats plan means surveying, drafting, and getting every other owner on the site to sign off, which isn't quick or cheap.
- Building consent isn't the same as flats-plan consent. A change can have council sign-off and still not be reflected on the title.
- You need every co-owner's agreement for structural changes, even ones you'd expect to just be able to make on your own property.
A cross-lease title isn't automatically a bad buy. It's a buy that needs a proper title and flats-plan check before you're committed, which is exactly why it's worth telling your conveyancer upfront if a property you're looking at is cross-lease.
Unit title
Unit title covers apartments, townhouses, and some newer developments, where each owner has a registered, freehold-style title to their own unit, plus a share in the common property (driveways, lawns, shared walls, the roof) managed through a body corporate.
Unlike cross-lease, a unit title is its own independent title, which makes it cleaner in some ways. But it comes with its own thing to check: the body corporate's finances, rules, and any disclosure about the building's condition. That's a big enough topic that we've covered it separately in our unit title and body corporate guide.
Comparing the three
| Freehold | Cross-lease | Unit title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land ownership | You, outright | Shared with co-owners | Shared via body corporate |
| Main document to check | Title | Title and flats plan | Title and body corporate disclosure |
| Structural changes | Your call | Needs co-owner agreement | Governed by body corp rules |
| Ongoing shared costs | None | Rare, informal | Body corporate levies |
| Typical risk area | Low | Unconsented flats-plan mismatches | Body corp finances and disclosure |
What this means for your conveyancing
Whatever the title type, your conveyancer's job is the same: pull the title from Landonline and tell you exactly what you're buying, not just that you're "buying a house." For a cross-lease, that means checking the flats plan against what's actually built. For a unit title, it means reading the body corporate disclosure. For freehold, it's usually the most straightforward search of the three.
This is also part of what a good LIM and building report pick up. See our guides on LIM reports and what to put in your Sale & Purchase Agreement if a title check needs to be a condition of your offer.
How Kemba helps
We flag the title type the moment we search it, and a cross-lease or unit title gets the closer look it needs automatically, not as an optional extra you have to ask for. You get a plain-English "here's what this actually means for you," not a stack of legal terms. Fixed $2,500 + GST, disbursements included, NZ-qualified people doing the work.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between freehold and cross-lease?
Freehold means you own the land and dwelling outright. Cross-lease means the land is owned jointly with your neighbours, and you lease your specific home and its exclusive-use area from the group, typically for 999 years. Cross-lease requires more care because the title depends on a flats plan matching what's actually built.
Is cross-lease a bad title type?
Not necessarily, but it's higher risk. Around 200,000 New Zealand properties are cross-lease, and it's common for the flats plan to be out of date because of unconsented additions or alterations. A cross-lease can be a perfectly good buy as long as the title and flats plan are properly checked before you commit.
What's the difference between cross-lease and unit title?
Both involve shared land ownership, but they work differently. A unit title gives you an independent, freehold-style title to your own unit plus a share in common property, managed by a body corporate. A cross-lease gives you a leasehold interest defined by a flats plan, with no body corporate structure.
Do I need to check the title type before making an offer?
Yes, or as early as possible. The title type affects how much due diligence you need and what your conveyancer should be checking. If a property is cross-lease or unit title, mention it to your conveyancer straight away so the right checks happen during your conditional period.
Can I convert a cross-lease to freehold?
Sometimes, through a formal process of converting the title, but it involves survey work, legal costs, and agreement from every owner on the site. It's not something to assume will happen quickly or cheaply, so don't factor it into your buying decision unless it's already underway.
