Official Council Document
LIM Report
LIM Report Cost
Quick Answer
Our residential LIM Report is NZ$1,299 and the commercial report is NZ$2,499. Fast Track Processing is NZ$299. That is the complete cost — identifying the council, preparing and lodging the application, obtaining the report and delivering it to you.
Cost is usually the second question people ask about a LIM, after what it is. The answer is straightforward, and this page sets out exactly what you pay, what that covers, and how the cost of the report compares to the cost of the problems it typically finds. It also covers what is not included, because a LIM is one document in a due diligence process rather than the whole of it.
Key Facts
Online Delivery
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What Is This Document
The residential LIM Report is NZ$1,299. It applies to standard residential property — houses, units, apartments and residential sections. The commercial LIM Report is NZ$2,499 and applies to commercial, industrial and mixed-use property, where the council file is typically larger and the consent and compliance history more involved. Fast Track Processing is NZ$299 and prioritises the preparation and lodgement of your application at our end.
Which Document Do I Need
If you are also obtaining a record of title — and most buyers should — ordering the two together is more efficient than ordering separately, and the LIM and Title bundle is priced accordingly.
A building inspection is a separate engagement with a building inspector and is not part of any LIM cost.
Where budget is constrained and you must choose one document, the LIM is the one that surfaces consent gaps, which is the issue most likely to cost money after settlement.
What Information Is Included
The price covers identifying the correct territorial authority from the property address, preparing the application in the form that council requires, lodging it, tracking it through processing, and delivering the completed report electronically.
There is no separate handling charge, no per-council variation and no additional fee for districts that are harder to deal with.
The price is the same whether the property is in central Auckland or the Chatham Islands.
Why People Order
REINZ recorded 80,655 residential sales across New Zealand in 2025.
Against a median transaction of that scale, the economics are not close.
Unconsented building work — the most common LIM finding — costs thousands to regularise where it can be regularised at all, and where it cannot, it can affect both insurability and resale.
A hazard notation discovered after settlement can change an insurance premium permanently or make cover conditional.
An outstanding council requisition becomes the new owner's problem on the day of settlement.
Set against the value of the transaction, the report is a rounding error.
Real World Use Cases
A buyer weighing whether to order a LIM on a property they are not certain about decides the cost is lower than the cost of a second inspection.
A vendor orders one before listing and finds a consent that was never closed out, resolving it while there is still time rather than under pressure mid-negotiation.
An investor orders across several properties and treats the cost as a fixed component of acquisition due diligence.
Council & Property Context
LIMs are issued by 67 territorial authorities and each sets its own schedule and its own processing arrangements. Our pricing is uniform regardless of which council applies, which means the cost of your report does not change according to where the property is. What does change by district is the processing time, and that is covered on the turnaround page and on each council page.
Common Mistakes
Treating the LIM as an optional cost rather than a due diligence cost.
Skipping it on a property that looks well maintained — presentation tells you nothing about what was consented.
Ordering the residential report for a commercial property, which delays processing when the file turns out to be a commercial one.
Assuming a vendor-supplied LIM saves the cost, when a report obtained months earlier may no longer reflect the council file.
When Not Sufficient
The cost of a LIM does not include a building inspection, a valuation, a record of title, or legal advice. Each of those is separately engaged. A complete pre-purchase process typically involves the LIM, the title and a building report, and it is worth budgeting for all three rather than treating any one of them as covering the others.
How To Order
Enter the property address, select residential or commercial, and add Fast Track Processing if you are working to a deadline. The price shown at checkout is the total. We identify the council, lodge the application and deliver the report electronically when the council releases it.
Turnaround & Delivery
Councils must supply a LIM within 10 working days of receiving a complete application. That timeframe is set by section 44A of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. Fast Track Processing at NZ$299 prioritises preparation and lodgement at our end — it does not shorten the council's own statutory processing window, which is fixed by statute. Where a council is running behind, the turnaround page and the relevant council page carry the current position.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a LIM report cost in New Zealand?
Our residential LIM Report is NZ$1,299 and the commercial report is NZ$2,499. Fast Track Processing is NZ$299. That covers the full process from application to delivery.
Is there a free LIM report?
No. A LIM is a formal statutory document and carries a fee. Some councils publish limited property information through free online mapping tools, but that is not a LIM and has none of its standing or completeness.
Why is a commercial LIM more expensive than a residential one?
Commercial property files are larger and more complex — more consents, more compliance history, more regulatory overlays. The commercial report is NZ$2,499 and reflects that additional work.
Does the price change depending on which council?
No. Pricing is uniform across all 67 territorial authorities. Whether the property is in a major city or a remote district, the cost is the same.
What does Fast Track Processing actually do?
For NZ$299 it prioritises the preparation and lodgement of your application at our end. It cannot compress the statutory processing window, which is fixed by legislation.
Can I get a refund if the LIM shows nothing concerning?
The fee covers obtaining and delivering the council record, not the content of it. A LIM that discloses no issues is a useful result — it is the confirmation you were paying for.
Get Your Residential LIM Report
Residential NZ$1,299. Commercial NZ$2,499. Fast Track Processing NZ$299. No additional charges.
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Property Records Team
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