How to obtain information on a property, Land Information Memorandum, Project Information Memorandum, and utilities and infrastructure locations.

Councils hold information on all properties on a property file.

Property files provide useful and important information if you are considering

  • buying a property
  • building a house or commercial building, or
  • making any changes to a building.

A property file can include the following information

  • building consents
  • building plans
  • code compliance certificates
  • certificate of acceptance documents
  • as-builts (sewer and stormwater plans)
  • planning and subdivision information - eg resource consents
  • cross lease and unit title property information
  • exemptions
  • owner builder declarations (if any).

Your building consent is kept on your your property file. Anyone can view this information by calling into the Rolleston Headquarters and viewing the property file.

Land Information Memorandum

A Land Information Memorandum (LIM) provides information held by Council on a property. It will tell you what Council knows about the property and any issues that may affect it. A LIM may include information about such things as

  • potential erosion
  • contamination or flooding
  • site design loads
  • where the services/utilities are located for sewer, water and stormwater
  • rates details
  • consents
  • notices that have been issued relating to this or neighbouring properties
  • the zoning (which tells you what you can do with the land)
  • likely future use such as new roads,
  • information from other utility providers
  • any other information the local authority regards as relevant.

Project Information Memorandum

A Project Information Memorandum (PIM) is issued by council. It includes all such information known to Council at that time which may be relevant to the project or site such as

  • potential for
    • erosion
    • avulsion (removal of land by water action)
    • falling debris
    • subsidence
    • slippage
    • alluvium (the deposit of silt from flooding)
    • the presence of hazardous contaminants which are likely to be relevant to the design, construction or alteration of your proposed building which are known to Council
  • details of stormwater or wastewater utility systems which may relate to your project or site will also be included (where applicable)
  • relevant Council Bylaws

PIMs are voluntary and may not be needed for your project. They are however helpful at the design phase of complex projects. For this reason we recommend that you apply for a PIM early on in the design process – as the information may be useful for your designer to finalise your project documentation.

For more information on applying for a PIM see Building Performance website.

Utilities and infrastructure locations

You can help protect Selwyn’s infrastructure network by obtaining this information before you start work on site. Information on the location of cables, pipes and other utility services for your site is available through