The LIM report, explained (and what it costs in your city)

Sell a house in New Zealand and the LIM will enter the conversation early: buyers ask about it, lawyers expect it, and most conditional offers make room for it. So before you list, get clear on what this report actually is and what a LIM report costs in NZ right now, because the price depends on your council and the figures move most years.

A LIM (Land Information Memorandum) is a report on a property prepared by the local council from its records. As at September 2026, a standard residential LIM costs $375 from Auckland Council, or $506 urgent, and $320 from Christchurch City Council, or $420 fast-tracked. Councils typically reset these fees on 1 July each year.

What is a LIM report, and what’s in it?

A LIM gathers what the council knows about a property into one document: the building consents and code compliance certificates it has issued, rates information, zoning, drainage, and known issues on council records such as flooding risk or notices affecting the land (NZ Legal’s explainer; the councils’ own order pages). Buyers read it to check that the house they’re seeing matches the house on file.

That last point cuts both ways, because a LIM shows what the council has been told, and nothing more. Unconsented building work usually appears as an absence: the sleepout exists in your backyard but not in the file, and an alert buyer’s lawyer will ask why.

How much does a LIM report cost in NZ?

Each council sets its own fee under its annual plan. The two we’re asked about most, as at September 2026:

• Auckland Council: $375 for a standard LIM, delivered within ten working days, or $506 urgent, within three working days, plus a 1.75% surcharge if you pay by card.
• Christchurch City Council: $320 for a standard residential LIM, ten working days, or $420 fast-tracked, five working days. Commercial properties run $500 and $600.

Everywhere else, check your council’s property-information page directly. Most councils reset fees on 1 July with their annual plans, so trust the council website over any blog post more than a year old, including this one.

For scale, it helps to place the LIM among the other costs of selling. Conveyancing on a straightforward residential sale runs $1,500 to $2,500 and a pre-sale building inspection $600 to $900 (Leanne Stewart’s 2026 cost-of-selling guide). Against those, a few hundred dollars for the council’s complete file on your property is one of the smallest line items in the whole exercise, and one of the few that can shorten your sale.

Should the seller order the LIM?

Buyers usually order the LIM, because checking the property is their due diligence and the LIM condition in the agreement is theirs (NZ Legal). But a vendor can pre-order one, and for a private seller there’s a solid case for doing it: a LIM already sitting in your document pack can be read on day one instead of ordered on day one, which can take about two weeks of council processing out of your conditional period. You also learn about any surprises first, on your own schedule, which matters more than it sounds (more on that below).

The honest caveat: your LIM is a head start for everyone rather than a substitute for the buyer’s own homework. A LIM speaks as at the date it’s issued, and some buyers or their lawyers will prefer a fresh one in their own name. That’s reasonable, and it doesn’t cancel the value of yours: even then, your copy lets serious buyers assess the property early and commit faster.

Timing matters if you do pre-order. Put the order in as you’re preparing to list rather than months before, so the report is as current as possible when buyers start reading it, and allow for the council’s ten working days in your launch plan.

The LIM condition in the sale and purchase agreement

The standard ADLS/REINZ agreement provides for a LIM condition among the usual buyer conditions, alongside finance and a building report (settled.govt.nz’s guidance on the agreement; Rainey Collins on the Eleventh Edition). The buyer orders the report and has an agreed period to be satisfied with it. For you as seller, it’s one of the clocks running inside your conditional period, and council processing time is most of that clock, which is exactly the time a pre-ordered LIM removes. We’ve walked through the whole agreement from the vendor’s side in our seller’s guide to the Sale & Purchase agreement.

What a bad LIM finding means (and doesn’t mean)

First, perspective: much of what a LIM contains is neutral information rather than bad news. Zoning, drainage plans and consent histories are context, and plenty of LIMs read exactly as everyone expected. The report only bites when it contradicts the property in front of the buyer.

When it does, a surprise in the LIM, say building work with no consent on file, hands the buyer a decision and you a negotiation. Under the LIM condition, a buyer who isn’t satisfied can walk away or come back to talk terms. What a finding doesn’t do is end the sale by itself. Sellers in this position generally have three moves: put it right (your lawyer and the council can map the options), adjust the price to carry the issue, or document it plainly and let buyers weigh it with open eyes.

And one obligation sits above all of this: if you knew about the problem, it belongs in your disclosure whether or not any report would find it (settled.govt.nz; see our post on what you legally must disclose). A LIM finding you’d already disclosed is a footnote; the same finding concealed is a breach.

This is why pre-ordering appeals: you find out what’s in the council’s file before a buyer does, and you deal with it on your timeline rather than mid-deal. If you sell with Celby, that happens by default, since a LIM is part of the flat-fee service, ordered through your dashboard as one of your listing documents. However you sell, few documents in a property transaction cost so little and settle so much.

This article is general information, not legal advice — your lawyer advises on your situation.

Celby is not a licensed real estate agent. You’re selling your property privately, and all decisions about your sale are your own.

Sources

1. Auckland Council — Order a LIM
2. Christchurch City Council — Fees: regulatory and property information services
3. NZ Legal — LIM reports explained
4. settled.govt.nz — Understanding the sale and purchase agreement when selling
5. settled.govt.nz — Selling privately
6. Rainey Collins — changes in the Eleventh Edition
7. Leanne Stewart — Cost of selling a house in New Zealand, 2026