Published March 2026 · 8 min read

Every Auckland Property Is Now on the Landslide Map — Here's What That Means

If you've checked your Auckland property on GeoMaps recently, or received a LIM report since October 2025, you may have been surprised to see landslide susceptibility information for the first time. And if you're buying, you might be alarmed to see "Detected" next to a landslide layer — even for a flat suburban section in Mangere or Flat Bush.

Before you worry, here's what's actually going on.

Auckland mapped the entire region for landslides

In 2025, Auckland Council completed a region-wide landslide susceptibility study — the first comprehensive assessment in almost 30 years. The study, conducted by engineering consultants WSP and published as Technical Report TR2025/7, covers every square metre of Auckland from Warkworth in the north to Franklin in the south, including the Hauraki Gulf islands.

Auckland Council's Chief Engineer Ross Roberts put it simply: "If you live in Auckland, these maps apply to you."

This means every Auckland property now has a landslide susceptibility classification. Every single one. Whether you're on a steep hillside in Titirangi or a pancake-flat section in Otara, the maps include your property. A result of "Detected" on a property hazard report simply means the property has been assessed — which every property has been.

Why was this done?

The 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle triggered approximately 50,000 landslides across the Auckland region — the largest landslide event in New Zealand's recorded history. These events caused loss of life and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to both private and public property.

Before this study, Auckland's landslide information was patchy and outdated. There was no consistent, region-wide dataset. Council planners and consenting officers were often working with anecdotal information or very localised assessments. The TR2025/7 study was commissioned to fix that gap.

The resulting maps are now used in planning decisions under Plan Change 120, appear on LIM reports, and are publicly available through Auckland Council's GeoMaps viewer.

What the susceptibility levels actually mean

The study classifies all Auckland land into five susceptibility categories. Here's what each one means in practical terms:

Very Low: The land has characteristics that make landslides very unlikely. Typically very flat terrain with stable geology. No specific action required.

Low: Landslides are unlikely under normal conditions. Most flat to gently sloping suburban land falls into this category. Standard good practice around drainage and earthworks applies, but no specialist assessment is typically needed.

Moderate: There are some terrain or geological features that could contribute to instability under certain conditions — for example, prolonged heavy rain saturating the soil. If you're planning development or significant earthworks, a geotechnical assessment is advisable.

High: The land has characteristics strongly associated with landslide susceptibility — steeper slopes, specific geological formations, or proximity to known landslide deposits. A geotechnical assessment by a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) is strongly recommended before purchasing or developing.

Very High: The strongest association with landslide susceptibility. Under Plan Change 120, very high susceptibility may preclude certain types of development entirely. Professional geotechnical assessment is essential.

The vast majority of Auckland's urban residential land falls into the Very Low or Low categories. If your property shows "Detected — Low," this is a routine classification for typical suburban land, not a red flag.

Two types of landslides, two separate maps

The study produced two separate maps because two different types of landslides behave very differently:

Shallow landslides involve the failure of a thin layer of soil (typically less than 2 metres deep) overlying harder rock. These are the most common type triggered during intense rainfall. They can occur on relatively modest slopes and often happen with very little warning during extreme rain events.

Large-scale landslides are deeper, larger features that span most or all of a hillslope. They're influenced by deeper geological structures, groundwater conditions, and longer-term processes like tectonic uplift. They develop more slowly but can be much more destructive.

Your LIM will show both maps. A property can have different susceptibility ratings for each type — for example, Low for shallow landslides but Moderate for large-scale, or vice versa.

Important limitations to understand

These maps are a powerful planning tool, but they have clear limitations that Auckland Council itself is transparent about:

They show susceptibility, not hazard or risk. Susceptibility tells you where landslides could occur based on terrain and geology. It doesn't tell you how often they will occur (hazard) or what the consequences would be (risk). A site-specific assessment by a qualified geotechnical professional is needed for property-level decisions.

They're regional-scale, not property-specific. The mapping was done using regional data — LiDAR, aerial imagery, geological maps — without visiting individual properties. Site-specific conditions like retaining walls, drainage improvements, or recent earthworks aren't captured.

They'll be updated. Auckland Council has committed to updating the maps as new data becomes available. Future revisions could reclassify areas in either direction.

How this affects you as a buyer

For Very Low or Low susceptibility: This is unlikely to have a material impact on your insurance premiums, mortgage approval, or property value. The notation will appear on your LIM, but it's context that applies to virtually all Auckland properties. Standard property maintenance — good drainage, careful earthworks, professional advice for retaining walls — is all that's needed.

For Moderate susceptibility: Worth paying attention to. A geotechnical assessment is advisable if you're planning any development. Some insurers may ask questions about landslide susceptibility at this level.

For High or Very High susceptibility: This is a material consideration for your purchase decision. Get a geotechnical assessment from a CPEng specialist before going unconditional. Insurance cover may have sub-limits or exclusions for landslide damage. Development options may be restricted under PC120's revised Chapter E36 rules.

Checking your property

You can see the landslide susceptibility classification for any Auckland property through several channels:

• Auckland Council GeoMaps (free): Go to geomapspublic.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and enable the Natural Hazards theme.
• Know Your Risk NZ report ($49, instant): Our reports assess both shallow and large-scale landslide susceptibility alongside 5 other hazard layers, with plain-english explanations of what the classification means for your specific situation.
• LIM report (~$375, up to 10 working days): The formal council record, which now includes both landslide susceptibility maps.

The bottom line

Seeing "landslide susceptibility detected" on a property report can be unsettling — but for the vast majority of Auckland properties, the classification is Very Low or Low, which simply reflects the fact that every property in the region has now been assessed. This is actually a good thing: Auckland finally has comprehensive, consistent landslide data that helps buyers, planners, and insurers make better decisions.

What matters is not whether a classification exists — it does for every property — but what level of susceptibility has been assigned. Check the level, understand what it means, and take the appropriate action for your situation.