What Does a New Zealand Land Information Memorandum Show in 2026?

This guide answers a New Zealand property-buying question under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. The current Act, national buyer guidance, and council pages were checked on 29 July 2026.

The legislation and public authorities define what must or may appear in a land information memorandum. The identify → read → open → compare → question → refresh sequence below is Proppi’s document framework, not legal, engineering, insurance, or building advice about a particular property.

What Does a New Zealand Land Information Memorandum Show?

Section 44A of the Act separates information a territorial authority must include from other property information it may add at its discretion.

The mandatory categories are a floor, not a promise that every council report will look identical. The council can only report information it holds or receives through the relevant statutory channels.

What Changed for Natural Hazards From 1 July 2025?

Part 6A of the Act commenced on 1 July 2025. Section 44B says the purpose is to make land information memoranda contain understandable information about:

• natural hazards
• climate-change impacts that exacerbate natural hazards
• hazards and impacts that affect the land now
• hazards and impacts with a reasonable possibility of affecting it in the future
• cumulative or combined effects on the land

Section 44C requires regional councils to provide relevant hazard information to territorial authorities. That matters because the buyer’s report can bring together district and regional information rather than leaving every source disconnected.

Waikato District Council’s January 2026 guidance says its disclosures draw from council records, district and regional hazard maps, scientific assessments, and regional-authority data. It also says the inclusion of hazard information does not itself impose a new restriction on the property.

The hazard section is evidence of what the authorities reported on the issue date. It is not an engineering conclusion, an insurance decision, or proof that no unrecorded or newly identified risk exists. Connect it to Proppi’s New Zealand natural-hazard buyer guide for the separate claim, repair, inspection, mapping, and insurance records.

What Changed for Small Stand-Alone Dwellings in 2026?

The current section 44A also includes information relating to non-consented small stand-alone dwellings. That paragraph entered the Act on 15 January 2026, when New Zealand’s new building consent exemption for qualifying small stand-alone dwellings commenced.

Building Performance guidance updated on 15 January 2026 explains that qualifying work can proceed without a building consent only when the statutory conditions are met. The work must still comply with the New Zealand Building Code.

For a property with a small stand-alone dwelling, connect:

1. land information memorandum entry
2. project information memorandum
3. initial and final design documents
4. licensed building professional records
5. plumbing, drainage, gas, and electrical records
6. council notifications
7. completion records
8. physical inspection and professional advice

The phrase non-consented describes the statutory pathway. It does not mean unrecorded, unchecked, or automatically compliant work.

How Long Does a New Zealand Land Information Memorandum Take?

Section 44A requires issue within 10 working days after a person applies to the territorial authority. The written application must be accompanied by the council’s charge.

The national deadline does not create one national price or ordering process:

• Auckland Council lists standard and urgent services with different timeframes.
• Waikato District Council lists separate residential, commercial, urgent, title-order, and printed-copy charges.
• Other councils set their own current fees, application fields, accepted title age, and delivery method.

Before signing or relying on a land information memorandum condition, record:

1. correct territorial authority
2. property address and legal description
3. record-of-title identifier used
4. application and payment timestamp
5. standard or urgent service selected
6. statutory and contractual deadlines
7. report issue date
8. any council clarification or corrected version

Do not assume an agent-supplied report was ordered for the same title, remains current for the decision date, or gives the buyer enough time to investigate an issue.

What Does the Memorandum Not Prove?

Invercargill City Council’s current guidance says a land information memorandum only contains information available in council records. It specifically warns that unknown unconsented work and unnotified exempt work will not appear, and that the record of title is not included.

Consumer Protection New Zealand also distinguishes the land information memorandum from the council property file. It says the property file may contain original and site plans that do not appear in the memorandum and recommends reading both together.

A land information memorandum does not, by itself, prove:

• the current building matches approved or filed plans
• all building work was notified, consented, exempt, or completed correctly
• a consent reached code compliance certificate stage
• the visible fence marks the legal boundary
• the building is structurally sound, weathertight, or free from contamination
• the title is current or free from registered interests
• the property is insurable or acceptable security for a lender
• no new information has arisen since the issue date

The Real Estate Authority’s Settled guide says a land information memorandum is unlikely to include original property plans. It also explains that difficulties can arise when work was done without consent or never received a final code compliance certificate.

How Does It Differ From the Other Buyer Records?

Each source answers a different question.

Use Proppi’s New Zealand record-of-title guide for registered ownership and interests, and the New Zealand unit-title disclosure guide when the property is part of a unit title development.

One report cannot safely inherit the conclusions of another. A consent listed in the land information memorandum is not proof that the current rooms match the approved plan. A clean building inspection is not proof that the title has no restrictive covenant.

How Should Consents and Certificates Be Reconciled?

Section 44A requires information about council-issued consents, certificates, notices, orders, and requisitions affecting the land or buildings. Turn each entry into a source-record check:

At the viewing or inspection, compare the recorded plan and descriptions with the observable property. Photograph and label a difference; do not convert it into a legal or technical conclusion. Ask the council and the appropriate New Zealand professional what the difference means.

When Should the Records Be Refreshed?

Use at least two transaction checkpoints.

Before the agreement becomes unconditional

• confirm the memorandum was issued for the correct land
• obtain the council file and source documents
• compare the title, plans, consents, buildings, and seller information
• send unresolved issues to the lawyer, conveyancer, builder, engineer, insurer, or council
• preserve the agreement condition and the advice used for the decision

Before settlement

• check whether the agreement or adviser requires refreshed council or title information
• record new notices, consents, works, damage, or seller disclosures
• confirm agreed repairs, certificates, or other conditions were completed
• keep the final source documents, advice, settlement record, and post-settlement actions

The New Zealand off-market property guide explains why a private or early-stage deal still needs the same council, title, inspection, and contract evidence.

Facts, Proppi Synthesis, and Practical Implications

The framework does not decide whether a property is safe, compliant, financeable, insurable, or a good purchase. It keeps each conclusion connected to the record and qualified person responsible for it.

A Practical New Zealand Council-Record File

For each purchase, keep:

1. property-address-legal-description-and-title
2. land-information-memorandum-application-and-receipt
3. issued-memorandum-and-issue-date
4. hazard-sources-maps-and-advice
5. council-property-file-and-plans
6. consents-certificates-notices-and-orders
7. drainage-water-rates-and-land-use
8. small-stand-alone-dwelling-records-if-relevant
9. physical-inspection-and-comparison
10. questions-council-responses-and-professional-advice
11. agreement-conditions-and-decisions
12. pre-settlement-refresh-and-follow-up

This evidence chain belongs in the property document management topic hub, Property Investing 101 hub, and Proppi’s New Zealand property-document reference.

Source Note

This article is specific to New Zealand land information memoranda and property buying. The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 sets the statutory content and timeframe. New Zealand government buyer guidance and local council pages explain how the report, property file, application, and local records work in practice. The filing and comparison sequence is Proppi’s synthesis.

Last reviewed: 29 July 2026. Confirm the current report, underlying records, agreement conditions, and property-specific implications with the relevant New Zealand council and qualified New Zealand lawyer, conveyancer, builder, engineer, surveyor, or insurer.

The Short Version

1. A New Zealand land information memorandum reports council-held hazards, services, rates, building, and land-use information.
2. Councils must issue a requested memorandum within 10 working days, but local fees and processes differ.
3. Since 1 July 2025, the Act requires understandable natural-hazard and climate-impact information.
4. Since 15 January 2026, the statutory contents also include information about non-consented small stand-alone dwellings.
5. The memorandum is not a physical inspection, record of title, or complete council property file.
6. Open each underlying consent, plan, notice, hazard source, and certificate, then compare it with the property.
7. Keep the report, source records, questions, advice, agreement decisions, and settlement refresh together.