New Zealand real estate agents work under the Real Estate Agents Act and its Code of Conduct. One rule matters most to buyers:
Rule 10.7: "…a licensee is not required to discover hidden or underlying defects in land but must disclose known defects to a customer…"
Read that carefully. Two things are true at once:
- An agent must tell you about defects they know about.
- An agent has no duty to go looking for defects they don't know about.
The gap
Nothing in the rules forces anyone to ask the vendor structured questions — or to put the answers in writing. A verbal "not that we're aware of" at an open home is very hard to rely on later: memories differ, and proving what someone was aware of, verbally, years later is close to impossible.
What changes when you ask in writing
The Fair Trading Act 1986 (s9) prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in trade. The standard ADLS/REINZ Sale & Purchase Agreement (clause 7) contains vendor warranties about notices and known matters. A structured, written disclosure request connects those duties to specific questions with timestamped answers — or a recorded decision not to answer.
What to do
- Get your builder's report, LIM and lawyer review as usual — they cover what can be inspected.
- Ask the agent and the vendor structured questions in writing about what they know.
- Keep the answers with your records — attributed and timestamped.
This article is general information, not legal advice.