Councils would have greater confidence with respect to providing natural hazard information on LIMs through nationally consistent legislation now on the horizon. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) will be engaging with local government from February through to April on the operation and implementation of changes to LGOIMA, focussing on how this can be implemented successfully and the role of regional councils.
New Zealand properties are highly exposed to a range of geological and weather-related natural hazards. Climate change will exacerbate our country’s natural hazard risks, including more frequent flooding and storm events, and sea level rise in the longer-term.
For many people, buying a property is the most significant investment decision in their lives and the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) is a key tool for property buyers to access natural hazard information about a property. However, during recent engagement with the local government sector, The DIA has identified significant challenges with the current LIM system – members of the public can find natural hazard information difficult to understand and councils are often uncertain or face pressure from their communities about the extent of natural hazard information they should include in LIMs.
In response to these challenges and insights from DIA’s engagement with the local government sector and other stakeholders, Cabinet approved a package of changes to the LIM system in November 2021. These changes will help ensure that natural hazard information in LIMs is clear, concise, and nationally consistent and will also give greater certainty to councils by:
- developing national direction under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA),
- formalising regional councils’ role to provide natural hazard information and support to territorial authorities, and
- limiting council liability when providing natural hazard information on LIMs.
DIA will be engaging with local government from February through to April on the operation and implementation of changes to LGOIMA, focussing on how this can be implemented successfully and the role of regional councils. DIA acknowledges that this is a busy time for local government engagement and are working with LGNZ and Taituarā to map out an effective approach.
For any questions or queries, please contact DIA officials