LIM vs council property file for a commercial building: what each shows and what neither tells you
A LIM (land information memorandum) is the council's summary of what it knows about a property, and under section 44A of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 the council must issue it within 10 working days of your application. The council property file is the underlying record: the building and resource consent documents, plans and correspondence the council holds. For a commercial building, get both. The LIM tells you what the council has noted against the land. The property file lets you check whether the building in front of you matches what was consented. Neither will show you work that was done without a consent.
What a LIM must contain
The Act sets the contents. A LIM must include natural hazard information under section 44B; other special features the council knows of that are not apparent from the district plan, including the likely presence of hazardous contaminants; stormwater and sewerage drains as shown in council records; rates owing; any consent, certificate, notice, order or requisition affecting the land or any building on it, issued by the council under the Building Act or any other Act; and information on the use to which the land may be put and the conditions on that use.
A LIM is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, sufficient evidence of the correctness of that information as at the date of issue, and the council has no ground to withhold it. Under the standard ADLS/REINZ agreement (now published with The Law Association of New Zealand, TLANZ), you obtain the LIM at your cost, and if the front-page date is blank the LIM date defaults to the fifteenth working day after the agreement. If you do not approve the LIM, you must give a reasoned notice by the LIM date, and the vendor then has 3 working days to say whether it will remedy the matters raised.
The natural hazard change from 1 July 2025
A 2023 amendment inserted section 44B, in force from 1 July 2025. A LIM must now identify each natural hazard, and each climate-change impact that exacerbates a natural hazard, affecting the land; each potential hazard where the council is satisfied there is a reasonable possibility it may affect the land now or in future; and the cumulative or combined effects. The limit is in the wording: all of it is "to the extent that the information is known to the territorial authority", and section 44D protects councils from liability for information provided in good faith. A LIM that says nothing about flooding tells you the council holds nothing it considers relevant, not that the site does not flood.
What the property file is, and what it is not
Auckland Council's description is the clearest. A property file "contains documents about a property that are not included in a LIM report", meaning building and resource consent documents and correspondence. "A property file does not replace a LIM report." And, in the council's own words, "The file only includes work we know about. If work was done without consent, it will not be in the property file."
For a commercial building the file is where you find the consented drawings for the original building and every later alteration, the code compliance certificate (or its absence) for each consent, any certificate of acceptance issued for unconsented work, and resource consents with their conditions. A certificate of acceptance deserves a close read: under section 96(2) of the Building Act the council issues one only where it is satisfied, insofar as it could ascertain, that the work complies, so it is a partial, retrospective comfort, not a code compliance certificate. Ask the vendor directly for the compliance schedule and the building warrant of fitness; the Building Act requires the owner to keep the schedule in or near the building and to supply the council with an annual BWOF, so the current copies sit with the owner.
Fees and turnaround
Councils set their own fees; these are Auckland Council's published figures as at 19 September 2026:
LIM: $387 standard (up to 10 working days), $522 urgent (up to 3 working days). Processing starts the next working day after you apply.
Property file: $154 commercial, $79 standard, $121 urgent. Commercial and standard files take up to 10 working days, urgent up to 3.
There is a commercial tier for property files; the published LIM page lists standard and urgent only.
Note the two working-day definitions. The council's 10 working days run on the Act's definition, which excludes weekends, public holidays and 20 December to 10 January. The standard agreement's definition excludes 24 December to 5 January, extended to 15 January for the LIM date. Near Christmas those windows differ, and our note on the due diligence period and what fits inside it works through the arithmetic.
Reading the property file for a commercial building
An invented example, for illustration. A buyer is looking at a 1,400 m2 warehouse with offices. The information memorandum gives that floor area and describes a mezzanine and a rear canopy. The property file shows a 1996 building consent for the warehouse and offices with a code compliance certificate, a 2009 consent for the mezzanine with no code compliance certificate on file, and nothing at all for the canopy. The consented drawings, scaled and measured, give a floor area 180 m2 smaller than the listing figure, and the 1996 resource consent carries a condition limiting heavy vehicle movements to set hours.
None of that is visible on the LIM beyond the consent references. It is a gap between the listing and the record, and it is what a buyer takes to the vendor, the lawyer and, for the canopy, the council. That reconciliation, drawings against listing against building, is the core of a desk-based check; our post on information memorandum red flags lists the figures that most often move.
Work through the file in this order:
List every building consent and whether it has a code compliance certificate or a certificate of acceptance.
Compare the consented floor plans to the listing's areas and to what is physically there.
Read every resource consent condition; in practice, conditions run with the land rather than the owner.
Check the consented use against the current use. A change of use needs written notice to the council under sections 114 to 116 of the Building Act.
Note any notice, requisition or correspondence about unconsented work.
For the full list of checks around the LIM and file, see the commercial property due diligence checklist.
What this doesn't tell you
A LIM and a property file only contain what the council knows. Unconsented work is found by measuring the building against the consented drawings, not by reading either document.
Fees and turnaround are Auckland Council's as at 19 September 2026; other councils publish their own.
Hazard information in a LIM is limited to what the council holds. It is not a geotechnical or flood assessment.
Reading the file tells you what was consented. Whether the work was built to the consent, and whether the building is sound, is a building inspector's or engineer's question.
FAQ
Do I need a LIM and a property file when buying commercial property?
Yes, both. The LIM is the council's statutory summary and evidence of what it holds; the property file is the underlying consents, plans and correspondence, and Auckland Council states that a property file does not replace a LIM.
How much does a LIM cost and how long does it take?
Auckland Council charges $387 for a standard LIM, issued within 10 working days, and $522 for an urgent LIM within 3 working days. Other councils set their own fees, but the 10 working day limit is set by the Act and applies nationally.
What natural hazard information does a LIM now include?
Since 1 July 2025 a LIM must identify each natural hazard and climate-change impact affecting the land, potential hazards where the council sees a reasonable possibility, and their cumulative effects, to the extent the council knows of them. It is not a hazard assessment of the site.
Does a clean LIM mean the building is fully consented?
No. A LIM lists the consents, certificates and notices the council has issued. Work done without a consent will not appear on the LIM or in the property file; it is found by comparing the building to the consented drawings.
How do I order an Auckland Council property file?
Order it through Auckland Council's property report pages. The commercial tier costs $154 and takes up to 10 working days; the urgent option is $121 and takes up to 3 working days.
What should I look for in the property file for a commercial building?
Every building consent and whether it has a code compliance certificate, any certificate of acceptance, the consented floor plans against the listing's areas, resource consent conditions, the consented use against the current use, and any correspondence about unconsented work.
Send us the LIM and the property file
If you have a LIM, a property file or a listing for a commercial building, send it through and we will tell you in writing what the records show, where the listing and the file disagree, and which specialist you need next. Independent analyst, not a valuer, engineer, surveyor, building inspector or lawyer.
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