LIM Reports Explained: What They Cover, What They Miss, and Why You Need One | NZ Legal

If you are buying a property in Auckland, there are a few things to work through before you go unconditional. Your lawyer will look at the title search and the LIM. You will also want to get a builder’s report.

Most buyers have heard of the LIM. Fewer of them understand what’s actually in it, which parts matter, and — just as importantly — what it doesn’t cover. This guide explains all three.

What is a LIM?

A Land Information Memorandum is a summary of information the council holds about a specific property. You request one from the local council — Auckland Council for Auckland properties — and they are required to issue it under section 44A of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

The council pulls together everything in their records that relates to your property and produces it as a single report. It is one of the few pieces of due diligence where you are getting direct information from the government, not a third-party opinion.

Both fees include GST and are current as at 2026.

A note on what is changing: new regulations coming into force in 2025 standardise how councils must present natural hazard information on LIMs. The practical effect for buyers is that hazard information will be more prominent and more consistent across councils — a positive development. We monitor these changes and will flag anything that affects how a LIM should be read on your matter.

What a LIM Contains

The exact contents vary slightly between councils, but Auckland Council LIMs typically include:

• Building consents and code compliance certificates (CCCs) for work done on the property
• Current zoning under the Auckland Unitary Plan
• Outstanding rates and any rates arrears
• Known natural hazards: flooding, subsidence, coastal inundation, contamination
• Drainage and sewerage connection details
• Resource consents affecting the property
• Notable trees or heritage designations
• Any requisitions or notices issued by the council

Each of these items deserves a closer look.

Building consents are records of every piece of work that required council sign-off — a new deck, a bathroom renovation, a garage conversion, an extension. Crucially, the LIM records whether a code compliance certificate (CCC) was ever issued. A consent without a CCC means the work was started and potentially completed, but the council never did a final inspection and signed it off. This is a common issue on Auckland properties that changed hands in the 1990s and 2000s.

Zoning tells you what activities the council permits on the site. This matters if the vendor is marketing the property as a development opportunity — always check the actual zone, not just the agent’s description.

Hazard information is particularly important in Auckland. The hazard layers have expanded significantly since the 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods, and many properties that previously showed no flood risk now sit within an overland flow path or flood-prone area on the council’s GeoMaps viewer. We see this regularly on properties in low-lying suburbs, including parts of Mt Roskill, New Lynn, Onehunga, and pockets of the North Shore. A LIM that is even a year or two old may not reflect the current overlay position — which is another reason to order your own.

What a LIM Does NOT Contain

Unpermitted work. If the previous owner added a sunroom without ever applying for consent, the council does not know about it. The LIM will show no consent for that sunroom, which is a red flag — but only if you are reading it carefully enough to notice the gap. We review the LIM carefully and will flag anything unusual, but spotting unconsented work on the ground is something you and your builder are best placed to do. If your builder identifies a deck, sleep-out, or extension and there is no consent for it in the LIM, let us know and we can raise it with the vendor’s lawyer before you go unconditional.

Cross-lease title issues. A specific issue we see on cross-lease properties: even where the LIM shows consents have been issued and CCCs granted, the flats plan registered against the title may not have been updated to reflect the new footprint. This creates a defective title issue that is separate from the LIM, but the LIM is often where the trail starts. If the consented work changed the building footprint, we check whether the flats plan was updated as part of the title review.

Construction defects. A LIM confirms that consents were granted and, sometimes, that a CCC was issued. It does not confirm that the work was done properly. A building consented and signed off in 2003 might still have weathertight issues. A builder’s report is the tool for uncovering that.

Issues with neighbouring properties. The LIM is about the property at the address you are buying, not the section next door. If the neighbour has an unconsented structure that encroaches on the boundary, or if a nearby property is subject to a contamination notice, that will not be in your LIM.

Future development plans. Resource consents for future development in the area may not appear unless they directly affect the property. If you are buying next to a vacant site in a Mixed Use zone, check the local planning registers directly.

How to Order a LIM

We ask clients to order the LIM directly through the Auckland Council website. It needs to be in your name and paid for by you, then forwarded to us for review. The reason is that council’s liability for errors or omissions in a LIM runs to the original applicant — so having the LIM in your name preserves your direct recourse against council if something is missed.

Once you have the LIM, send it through to us. We will tell you what to look out for and flag anything unusual before you go unconditional.

Timing matters: a standard LIM takes up to 10 working days, so factor that into the due diligence period you negotiate with the vendor. An urgent LIM comes back within 3 working days at a higher fee, which is sometimes necessary on tight auction timelines.

Why You Should Order Your Own LIM

Real estate agents and vendors will often offer a LIM they have already obtained, sometimes at no cost. It is tempting to rely on this — but we recommend against it.

Council’s liability for a LIM runs only to the person who ordered it. If you rely on a LIM ordered by the agent or vendor and something has been missed, you have no direct claim against council, because there is no contract between you and them in respect of that report.

There is also a timing issue. Council records change as new consents are issued, hazards are mapped, or notices are recorded. A LIM that was accurate when the agent ordered it three months ago may no longer reflect the current position. Your own LIM gives you a current snapshot in your name.

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The cost of ordering your own LIM is modest compared to the size of the transaction — and it preserves your legal position if anything goes wrong.

How the LIM Interacts with Your Contract

A point worth knowing: the standard ADLS Agreement for Sale and Purchase contains vendor warranties about unconsented work and outstanding notices (clause 7). If a LIM later reveals something the vendor warranted against, you may have a contractual remedy independent of the LIM itself. We always read the LIM alongside the warranties in the contract — a breach of warranty can change what options you have, both before and after settlement.

LIM, Title Search, Builder’s Report: Three Different Jobs

These three documents are often talked about together because all three are expected before going unconditional on a residential purchase. But they do different things:

Document	What it tells you	Who reviews it
LIM	What the council knows about the property: consents, hazards, zoning, rates	Your lawyer
Title search	What is registered on the title: ownership, mortgages, easements, covenants	Your lawyer
Builder's report	The physical condition of the building: structure, roof, moisture, services	You and your builder, with any defects negotiated by us

Gaps in any one of them can create problems. A property can have a clean LIM and a perfectly registered title but a leaking roof. A property can pass a builder’s inspection and show no hazards on the LIM but have a complex easement on the title that limits what you can build. Doing all three is standard practice for a reason.

Red Flags to Look For

When we review the LIM, these are the items that most often require further investigation:

LIM red flags — items that warrant further investigation

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1. Consents without CCCs — a consent with no final inspection record is an incomplete job; it may be fine but needs to be investigated
2. Hazard overlays — flood plain, coastal inundation, or land instability; understand the practical effect on insurance and future development potential
3. Rates arrears — outstanding rates are settled by the vendor before settlement, but useful to know what the position is
4. Unexpected resource consents — commercial activity on a residential property, earthworks, or drainage consents that may have ongoing obligations
5. Missing consents for visible work — if your builder identifies a garage, sleep-out, or extension and the LIM shows no consent for it, raise it before going unconditional

Reset

Leasehold and Unit Title Properties

Standard LIM rules apply to leasehold and unit title properties, but there are additional documents we will want to see. For a unit title, the body corporate minutes, the pre-contract disclosure statement, and the long-term maintenance plan all add context that a LIM alone does not provide. For leasehold, the ground lease terms are the main document to understand. We will tell you what is needed for the specific property type.

Get Advice Before You Go Unconditional

A LIM is one input into the due diligence picture, not the whole picture. The most common mistake buyers make is reading it as a clean bill of health when what it actually confirms is what the council has in its records.

If you are not sure what a specific item in the LIM means, that is exactly the kind of question to put to us before you sign off on conditions. Due diligence questions are often more nuanced than they look, and the right answer usually depends on the specific property, the contract, and your plans for the place.

Talk to the NZ Legal team before you go unconditional. We review LIMs as part of every conveyancing matter — residential and commercial — and will explain anything that needs a closer look. Get in touch here.

This article is general information about LIM reports in New Zealand as at May 2026. It is not legal advice. Get advice on your specific situation.

Sources

1. Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, s 44AThe provision requiring councils to issue Land Information Memoranda on request.
2. Building Act 2004Governs building consents and code compliance certificates (CCCs).
3. ADLS Agreement for Sale and Purchase (10th ed)Standard residential sale and purchase agreement, including vendor warranties at clause 7.
4. Resource Management Act 1991Zoning, resource consents, and natural hazard planning under the Auckland Unitary Plan.