How Does Leasehold Work for a Non-Cook Islander ?

Here is a sample of a common question that is asked :

“ Hello, I am a Non-Cook Islander and I am interested in finding a property in the Cook Islands. Could you please let me know how the lease options work.

I see that most properties on your web site have 30 or 40 year lease in place ? “

A simple answer can be as follows.

All land in the Cook Islands is Leasehold Land with a maximum term of any lease being 60 years. 

Land is customarily owned by respective Cook Islands families and is not available under freehold titles.

However,  in the initial stage ( for a Non-Cook Islander ) , it is possible to obtain a lease, or to have an existing lease re-assigned to them, to conduct a business.

The obtaining of, or having a lease re-assigned to, a Non-Cook Islander is possible, however you must first seek the approval from the B.T.I.B. ( i.e the Cook Islands Business Trade Investment Board )

The maximum lease available is 60 years.  When the term of the lease begins to run down it is possible to approach the landowner(s) at any time within that lease period and start the conversation to seek permission to have the lease topped-up, back up to 60 years or a part there-of, however this ( top-up ) is not to be taken as  guarantee and it is solely at the landowner(s) discretion.

In the Cook Islands , the asking price ( of any property)  is the one-off cost for the Leasehold ownership of the land for those remaining years left on the lease. Also to note: There are no council rates, or any other civic taxes associated with land ownership;  no water charges and even domestic garbage collection is free of charge. The only other cost , outside of the purchase price, is a yearly land rental that is paid to the indigenous landowners.

In short:  Any Residential property or vacant section of land, is not available to Non-Cook islanders as their initial way of entry to these islands . The simplest and easiest way of entry is to purchase a Going Concern Business , which can be owned 100% by yourself; after operating that business for several years , you can apply to the B.T.I.B.  to seek permission to then look at residential properties .

HOWEVER: There are other legal ways to achieve a result, one being that you could enter into a J.V (Joint Venture) arrangement with a Cook Islander (or a Permanent Resident of the Cook Islands )

For some extra information, the link below will outline the restrictions on residential properties as opposed to a going concern business, that we have for sale.

THIS LINK HERE