Governor Signs Additional Land Court Deregistration Requirement into Law
Developers should be aware of an additional Land Court deregistration requirement and review process recently enacted into law when planning to deregister property from the Land Court System.
On July 6, 2021, Governor Ige signed Act 187, HB244 HD1 SD1 CD1 (2021) ("Act 187") into law, amending Section 501-261.5 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes ("HRS") to include an additional requirement to deregistering property from the Land Court system.
Under HRS Section 501-261.5, landowners may deregister their property from the Land Court system by submitting to the Assistant Registrar of the Land Court a written request to deregister the registered land, proof of title insurance in the amount of the value of the land to be deregistered, and a written waiver of all claims against the State relating to the title to the land arising after the date of deregistration.
Under Act 187, however, landowners must now additionally submit to the Assistant Registrar a plan of the parcel or parcels sought to be deregistered that includes a map and description prepared by a licensed professional surveyor in accordance with HRS Sections 502-17, 502-18, and 502-19 (the drafting requirements for plans of land recorded under the Regular System). The Assistant Registrar, after receiving the required items, will refer the map and description of the parcel or parcels to the State Land Surveyor in the Department of Accounting and General Services for approval after being checked as to form and mathematical correctness but not on the ground.
Prior to Act 187, and depending on the encumbrances to title, a deregistration request would be processed within eight to ten weeks. Developers, however, should consider the additional review process provided under Act 187 when planning to deregister properties from the Land Court system.