LIMs & council files

What’s in a LIM, how to get one and find out what else is on the council’s files.

What's in a LIM?

A Land Information Memorandum (LIM) provides information held by the council about a particular property, which you may not get off the district plan alone.

The information you may get from a LIM will vary between councils. Generally you could expect to find out about:

Rates.
Land features and environmental issues, such as erosion or flooding.
Restrictions on land or building use.
Resource consents issued.
Potential contamination by hazardous substances.
Details about septic tanks and hazardous substances, etc.
Storm water or sewage drains.

There may be information about Wahi tapu sites (sacred areas) and some councils may provide aerial photographs, building plans and drawings.

The LIM information might help you make the final decision about whether to buy the section or not, and whether the price is fair. For instance, if you have to do major earthworks to fix the drainage you might reconsider the price of the section.

How to apply for a LIM

You can apply for a LIM at any time. But it is essential when you are thinking of buying a section.

It can be difficult in times of rapid turnover of real estate to find time to really research what you are buying. But you should make getting a satisfactory LIM (and your lawyer’s approval of the LIM contents) a condition of your sale and purchase agreement, allowing yourself enough time to obtain and study it.

To get a LIM you apply to your local council. Ask them for an application form or download it off your council’s website. You may have to provide a copy of the certificate of title and there is a fee which varies depending on the council and the property involved. The council must produce the LIM within 10 working days.

However, just getting the LIM is not necessarily the complete story. The council does not actually do a site inspection to verify the information in the LIM. And it is possible that the council has not been notified of something that could affect you, or that something got left off the LIM by mistake.

ConsumerBuild talked to a number of people who had bought a LIM before buying a property. Here is a sample of what they told us:

“We obtained a LIM report and had our solicitor look at it before purchasing. One month after we bought the property we had a call from the council planner to say the property had an urupa (burial) site on it. When asked why this did not appear on the LIM, the council said they were advised that the report documenting the urupa had not been verified by the local iwi so its existence had not been officially documented by the council.”

“I purchased a property and obtained a LIM from the council at a cost of $245. It contained no information on neighbouring properties (one of which has a garage built on the boundary), and very little detail. I was able to obtain drainage and sewer plans by searching the council files myself, and thought this should have been included in the LIM. Also, there was no detailed information on the payment plans for the proposed sewer system and, specifically, what option the previous owner had selected. I believe the LIM was very poorly researched and missing important information which was readily available. It was certainly a waste of money, as I was able to gather more detail in about half an hour of my own research through the council property file.”

Checking the council’s files

The only way you can be sure you have complete information about the site is to ask to check the council’s files on the property.

You can go into the council’s office, but it might save time if you make an appointment to meet with a planner. Give them the details of the section and ask to see the files for the site. You may have to pay to view any files that have been archived.

In the files, look for permissions or resource consents that allow specific activities. The file should also show up old issues, like complaints made by current or past neighbours in the area. If there is anything of interest, you may be able to make photocopies to take with you.

Ask the planner:

How is the site zoned?
Are any nearby properties zoned differently?
What activities are allowed in the zone?
What can the neighbours do that might affect my enjoyment of the site, such as building up and blocking the view?
Are there any protected trees on or close to my site?
Is there anything in the district plan that may affect the property, such as a proposed motorway?
Are there any applications or proposals for neighbouring properties, for example, the quarry down the road may be proposing to increase extraction which could result in more noise and traffic.

This is also a good opportunity to ask about which services (water, power, phone, mobile phone, gas), are located near the property. This could affect where you can build, or could add extra building costs.

If the site has a shared driveway check what type it is (i.e. whether it is a legal right of way), and what your access rights and maintenance responsibilities might be.