Do I need a LIM to sell my house?

What a LIM is

A LIM is a report you buy from the local council about one specific property. It gathers what the council holds: building consents and code compliance certificates, drainage and service connections, rates, zoning, and known hazards such as flooding, erosion or contamination on the council's records.

It is a record, not an inspection. It does not describe the condition of the house and it says nothing about what the house is worth. It tells you what the council knows.

Why a seller might order one anyway

• Auction campaigns. A buyer who has to bid unconditionally has to be comfortable before auction day. A LIM available from the start removes a cost and a delay for every interested buyer.
• You find out what the council has on file. Work done by a previous owner, a consent that was never closed out, a hazard on the record. All of it is better on your desk in week one than raised in a buyer's condition in week four.
• It answers questions the same way every time. One document, given to every buyer, instead of the agent repeating an answer from memory.

Cost and turnaround depend on the council and on whether you pay for it urgently. Order it early: a LIM takes time to come back and a campaign will not wait for it.

What a LIM does not do

A LIM does not replace your own disclosure. If you know something about the property that is not in the council's records, handing over a LIM does not deal with it. Settled.govt.nz, the government's own guidance, says sellers should share all relevant information, including issues such as water tightness issues, boundary issues and unconsented alterations, and that failing to disclose serious issues can lead to legal action later.

It also does not stop a buyer getting their own. Buyers commonly make an offer conditional on a LIM and on their lawyer's review of it, even where one has been provided.

If the LIM shows a problem

Unconsented work, an open consent or a hazard on the record does not stop a sale, but it changes the conversation and it has to be handled openly. Take the LIM to your lawyer before the campaign starts and decide how it will be presented, because once your agent knows, rule 10.7 of the Client Care Rules requires them to disclose known defects to buyers.