How Do I Apply for a State Lease?

Sections 68 to 79 of the Land Act 1996 set out the whole process, and the deadlines in it are unforgiving.

Section 68 — advertisement of available land

Except where land is exempted, the Departmental Head shall give notice by advertisement in the National Gazette of all lands available for leasing. The advertisement must contain:

• the type of lease available; the purpose; the length of the lease;
• a description of the land;
• the rent (if any) payable for the first period;
• for a special purposes lease, any royalties payable;
• the terms and conditions; the reserve price; and such other information as the Departmental Head thinks fit or the Minister directs.

Section 69 — when land need not be advertised

A State lease shall not be granted without first being advertised unless the Minister exempts the land. The grounds are:

1. (a) the lease is to a governmental body for a public purpose;
2. (b) it is necessary to relocate persons displaced by a disaster as defined in the Disaster Management Act (Chapter 403);
3. (c) a lessee applies for a further lease;
4. (d) the State has agreed to provide land for the establishment or expansion of a business, project or undertaking;
5. (e) the land adjoins land owned by the applicant and is required to bring the holding up to a more workable unit — provided the claims of other neighbouring landowners are considered and their views taken into account;
6. (f) the foreign affairs department recommends land be made available for consular premises;
7. (g) the land is required for the resettlement of refugees;
8. (h) the applicant has funded the acquisition of the land from customary landowners in order to acquire a State lease over it;
9. (i) a lease is to be granted under section 99 or 102;
10. (j) a new lease is granted under section 110, 130 or 131.

Paragraph (h) is the route by which a developer who paid for the State’s acquisition of customary land obtains the resulting lease. Paragraph (i) covers special agricultural and business leases.

Section 70 — how to apply

An application for a State lease shall be made in the approved form and be accompanied by the prescribed fee for the registration of the application. Both are required; an application without the fee is not registered.

Section 71 — the Land Board hears it

Subject to the Minister’s power of direct grant, the Land Board shall hear all applications, shall recommend to the Minister the persons (if any) to whom leases should be granted, and may make such other recommendations as it considers proper.

The meeting is gazetted at least seven days ahead, interested persons are notified by post, and the Board hears objections before reporting to the Minister within 14 days.

Section 73 — where land is offered by tender

• The tender notice must contain the section 68 particulars and specify the reserve price.
• A tender below the reserve price is invalid and shall not be considered.
• Land offered by tender may, if unleased, be re-offered by tender, or after an unsuccessful offer be granted on application.
• The successful tenderer shall pay the amount of the tender, and is entitled to a State lease in accordance with the tender notice.

Section 74 — publication in the Gazette

The Departmental Head publishes in the National Gazette the name of the successful applicant for each State lease with particulars of the land — and also the names of the second-choice and third-choice applicants, to whom a Letter of Grant may later be forwarded.

That date matters twice over: it starts the 28-day acceptance clock, and under section 81 it is the date from which the lease term, the improvement conditions and the rent are calculated.

Sections 75 to 77 — the 28 days

The Departmental Head forwards a Letter of Grant to the successful applicant, notifying the date of gazettal, the terms and conditions of the proposed lease, all fees and outstanding moneys, and the need to sign and return a Lease Acceptance Form.

Under section 76, the Minister executes three copies of the lease and forwards the original and a duplicate to the Registrar of Titles for registration. An applicant who returns a duly signed Lease Acceptance Form thereby accepts the terms and is deemed to have executed the lease on the date the Minister executes it.

Sections 78 and 79 — after extinguishment

• Section 78: where a grant was extinguished by mistake, and no section 75 notice has been published for another applicant, the Departmental Head may publish a notice of revocation of extinguishment — and the original grant is then treated as valid as if the extinguishment had never occurred.
• Section 79: where 60 days pass from the notice of extinguishment with no revocation, the Departmental Head forwards a Letter of Grant to the second-choice applicant; if that too is extinguished and 60 days pass, to the third-choice applicant.