What you legally must disclose when selling your house

Disclosure is the part of private selling people whisper about. “What do I have to disclose when selling a house in NZ, and what happens if I get something wrong?” It’s a fair question with a clearer answer than most sellers expect, and the duties turn out to be identical whether an agent is involved or not.

The short answer: when you sell a house in New Zealand you must disclose known problems with the property, including weathertightness issues, unconsented building work, boundary disputes, proposed developments that affect the property, contamination, and any existing tenancy. You must also answer buyers’ questions honestly. These duties come from your agreement with the buyer and the general law, and they apply to every seller (settled.govt.nz).

What do you have to disclose when selling a house in NZ?

settled.govt.nz, the Real Estate Authority’s consumer site, together with law-firm guidance from Rainey Collins and Henderson Reeves, puts the core areas like this:

• Weathertightness. If the home leaks, has leaked, or has been part of a weathertightness claim, buyers need to know.
• Unconsented building work. Alterations or additions done without a building consent where one was required. These tend to surface anyway, through the LIM or the buyer’s builder, so silence buys little.
• Boundary disputes. A live disagreement with a neighbour over fences, access or boundary lines is something the buyer inherits, so it’s something they must hear about first.
• Proposed developments. Plans you know about that would affect the property, like a development going in next door.
• Contamination. Known contamination of the property, methamphetamine being the usual modern example.
• Tenancy. If tenants are in place, the buyer needs to know the arrangement they’re stepping into.

settled.govt.nz doesn’t leave much room for creative memory here: “If you knowingly fail to disclose any of these issues, you may be in breach of the terms of your agreement with the buyer.”

Do you have to volunteer information, or just answer honestly?

Both duties exist, and it helps to keep them separate. Known problems in the categories above need to be disclosed whether or not anyone asks; that’s the volunteering duty. Beyond it sits the honesty duty: any question a buyer asks about the property deserves a truthful answer, because a false one is misrepresentation.

There’s still room for ordinary commercial privacy. You don’t have to reveal your bottom-line price or your reasons for moving, and “would you take less?” can be met with a polite smile. Questions about the house itself are different. “Has the roof ever leaked?” gets the truth, every time, and if the truth needs context, give the context too.

And if you’re not sure whether something counts, ask your lawyer before the listing goes live. It’s a five-minute conversation at that stage; after settlement, the same question arrives as a letter.

The duties are the same with or without an agent

This is the point most sellers were never told: hiring an agent doesn’t transfer these duties to the agent, and skipping the agent doesn’t enlarge them. They attach to you because you’re the one who knows the property. settled.govt.nz frames its disclosure guidance for all sellers, and Citizens Advice Bureau confirms your legal obligations are the same in a private sale, with a conveyancing lawyer as your safeguard either way. If disclosure was the reason private selling felt risky, that risk was travelling with you all along.

What happens if you hide something

The consequences run from uncomfortable to expensive. Concealing a known problem puts you in breach of your agreement with the buyer (settled.govt.nz, above), and misrepresentation can mean compensation claims or, in serious cases, a sale being unwound after settlement (Rainey Collins; Henderson Reeves). The mechanics are predictable: hidden problems get found, by the buyer’s builder before settlement or by the buyer’s own experience after it. A price adjustment negotiated up front is a number you help set; a post-settlement claim comes with lawyers attached and a timetable you don’t choose.

Why honest disclosure protects you

Disclosure sounds like pure downside until you watch how sales actually die. Conditional deals collapse when the buyer’s builder or LIM turns up something the seller knew and sat on; trust goes, and the negotiation goes with it. The reverse also holds: a disclosed issue is a known quantity that buyers can price, fix or accept, and a builder’s report that confirms what you already said builds confidence in everything else you’ve said.

If you’re not sure what you’d even need to disclose, a pre-sale building inspection costs about $600 to $900 (Leanne Stewart’s 2026 cost guide) and tells you before any buyer does. Pair it with straight answers, and the scary part of private selling becomes one of its quieter strengths.

Unit titles and cross-leases carry extra rules

Two ownership types add formal requirements on top of everything above. If you’re selling a unit title (an apartment, or many townhouses), the law requires you to give the buyer a pre-contract disclosure statement before they sign, covering body corporate levies, fees and related matters. It’s usually ordered from your body corporate manager for around $250 to $350, and late or incomplete disclosure can let the buyer delay settlement or even cancel (settled.govt.nz; unittitles.govt.nz; Smith Partners). If you’re selling a cross-lease, check early that the flats plan still matches the building’s footprint, because unconsented additions can create a defective title that surfaces at sale time (McVeagh Fleming). Both deserve a proper read of their own, and we cover each in its own post.

Wherever your property sits, the principle is the same and it costs nothing. Celby’s selling process takes disclosure seriously because it protects you as much as the buyer: you work through a plain-English disclosure form covering these exact areas, and your lawyer reviews your answers before the sale and purchase agreement is drafted. The sellers who end up in trouble are almost never the ones with a leaky roof; they’re the ones who knew and said nothing.

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. settled.govt.nz — Selling privately
2. settled.govt.nz — Disclosure for sellers
3. Rainey Collins — Disclosure when selling property
4. Henderson Reeves — What must you disclose?
5. Citizens Advice Bureau — selling a home
6. settled.govt.nz — Selling a unit title property
7. unittitles.govt.nz — Pre-contract disclosure statement
8. Smith Partners — Selling a unit title property
9. McVeagh Fleming — Understanding cross-lease properties
10. Leanne Stewart — Cost of selling a house in NZ, 2026 (building inspection)