Changes to the Property (Relationships) Act
Updated 2026-08-09. General information, not legal advice.
The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 remains the law in force in New Zealand, but it has been under reform pressure for years. The Law Commission's major review, reported in 2019, concluded the Act no longer reflects how New Zealanders form families and recommended replacing it with a new statute. As at August 2026 no replacement act has been passed, so the current rules, including contracting out under section 21, continue to apply exactly as this site describes them. If reform does proceed, existing certified agreements are the kind of settled arrangement transitional provisions typically respect, which is an argument for, not against, signing one now.
What did the Law Commission recommend?
Headline recommendations from the 2019 review included replacing the Act with a modern statute; changing how the family home is shared where one partner brought it into the relationship, so that in some situations only the increase in value during the relationship would be shared rather than the whole home; introducing Family Income Sharing Arrangements, payments designed to share the income advantages a relationship produced for a time after separation; and giving courts greater powers over trusts that hold what is in substance the couple's property.
For couples planning ahead, the direction of the recommendations matters more than the detail: reform thinking runs towards more nuanced sharing rules and stronger anti-avoidance powers, not towards weakening agreements.
What has actually changed in the law?
The 1976 Act, as amended over the years, is still in force, and its core machinery, equal sharing after about three years, the relationship property classifications, section 21 contracting out with section 21F formalities and the section 21J safety valve, operates unchanged. Check the current status with your lawyer when you sign, and treat any news of a reform bill as a prompt to review, not panic: law changes of this kind come with long lead times and transitional rules.
What would reform mean for an existing prenup?
A certified contracting out agreement is a settled bargain, and legislative reform in property law characteristically preserves existing arrangements or gives parties time to adjust. More practically: an agreement records your mutual intentions with evidence and advice attached, which is valuable under any statutory regime. Couples who wait for the law to settle before signing are choosing the current default, equal sharing, as their interim plan, usually without meaning to. If your circumstances change, or the law does, updating an agreement is a routine exercise.
Common questions
- Has the Property (Relationships) Act been replaced?
- No. The Law Commission recommended a new statute in its 2019 review, but as at August 2026 the 1976 Act remains in force and contracting out agreements operate under it unchanged. Confirm the current position with your lawyer when signing.
- Should we wait for the law to change before signing a prenup?
- Waiting means accepting the Act's default equal sharing in the meantime, which is exactly what most couples signing an agreement want to avoid. Agreements can be reviewed if the law changes, and settled agreements are typically respected by transitional provisions.
- What were Family Income Sharing Arrangements?
- A Law Commission proposal for payments sharing the income advantages of a relationship for a period after separation, addressing the economic gap that can follow career sacrifices. They are a recommendation, not current law.
Sources
All information published on prenup.nz, including this guide, is general information only and is not to be construed as legal advice. We strongly recommend seeking independent legal advice about your own situation. A contracting out agreement only binds you once each partner has taken independent legal advice and a lawyer has witnessed and certified each signature, as section 21F of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 requires.