A Land Information Memorandum — a LIM — is a report issued by the local council about a specific property. It's one of the standard conditions in a New Zealand sale and purchase agreement, and for good reason: it pulls together information the council holds that isn't visible just by looking at the house.

What's actually in it

A LIM typically includes:

  • Consented building work on record, and whether it has a code compliance certificate
  • Any known unconsented or unauthorised building work the council is aware of
  • Rates information and any outstanding rates
  • Hazard information the council holds — flooding, erosion, land instability, contamination
  • Drainage and stormwater plans where the council has them on file
  • Resource consents and any special land features noted against the property
  • Any notices, requisitions or objections the council has issued against the property

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What it doesn't tell you

A LIM is a records search, not a physical inspection. It reports what the council has on file, not what a builder would find standing in the roof space. It won't tell you whether the roof is about to leak, whether the wiring is up to standard, or whether a deck was built to a good standard even if it was properly consented years ago. That's what a building inspection is for — the two reports answer different questions and neither one substitutes for the other.

It's also only as good as the council's records. Older properties, or work done a long time ago, can have gaps — an addition built decades before records were digitised might not show up as clearly as recent consented work.

When to order one

If your offer includes a LIM condition, order the report as early in the due diligence period as you can — councils typically take a couple of weeks to issue one, and that's before you've had time to actually read it and, if needed, follow anything up with your lawyer. Ordering it on day one of your conditions period, rather than day ten, is the difference between having time to act on what it says and running out of room.

What to do if something in it concerns you

Unconsented work or an unresolved notice on the LIM doesn't automatically mean walk away — it depends what it is and how it was disclosed. This is exactly the kind of thing to take straight to your lawyer or conveyancer rather than deciding yourself: they can tell you whether it's routine, whether it affects insurability or a future resale, and whether it's grounds to renegotiate or cancel under your agreement's LIM condition.

Keeping it with the rest of your due diligence

A LIM is one of several things you'll be chasing during your conditions period, alongside a building report, insurance confirmation and your finance approval — and when you're weighing up more than one property at a time, it's easy to lose track of what's back and what's still outstanding. If you're tracking a property in OurHouse, you can log where each condition stands as a note on the watchlist item, right next to that same property's school zones, commute time and everything else you're weighing up.