Land Hazards

As you may have discovered, Auckland is hilly, and there’s many geographic features present on our landscape. On the LIM report and in the GIS viewer, you may come across these.

Insurance companies may not insure properties with any sort of land hazards at all. Be really careful.

Refer to Reading a LIM to find out how to identify these hazrds.

Flood plain or flood prone areas

If the property is situated on a flood plain, severe weather events may result in flooding of the area. In most cases the property will be situated away from the flood plain, but having this on the LIM report will result in higher insurance premiums or no coverage for water related claims. Modern properties built under the unitary plan typically have their piles or foundations raised to mitigate against the flood plain and overland flow path, whereas older properties don’t. This is a cause for further investigation with your builder.

Overland Flow Path

An overland flow path means water tends to flow down that path during rainfall events. This is quite common across the Auckland region, and as long as the path is not going right through the property, it is usually ok. Even then, check the size and intensity of the flow path.

High Wind Zone

High wind zones are common in Auckland’s coastal areas – if the property is situated in this area, insurance premiums will be higher, and the building will need to meet more stringent building standards. This will also make redevelopment more difficult, and taller buildings will be more expensive.

Unstable Land

Unstable land can be found all over Auckland and will restrict what you’re able to do on the property, as well as have an impact on the current buildings on it. Be really careful when dealing with these.