‘Stuck in limbo’: Decade-old council data flags house as flood risk - owner says it’s wrong

Friday, 27 February 2026

A flood map shows Ben Gumbrell’s home is in a floodplain. But it’s based on data collected before his home was built and earthworks changed the contour of the land.

Ben Gumbrell is trying to sell his family’s townhouse, but says decade-old council data is deterring buyers.

“We’re stuck in limbo,” said Gumbrell, who’s had his home listed for sale since October.

His two-bedroom, two-storey Kumeū home is sparkling on the sunny February morning when Stuff visits. But we’re not the kind of callers Gumbrell wants.

“I can make the house look nice, but when we have an open home each week and nobody walks through the door, there’s nothing more I can do.”

Grumbell is trying to sell his house and says the situation means he’s “stuck in limbo”.

Gumbrell said potential buyers looking up the Lumbarda Drive home online would see a flood map that shows the home is in a floodplain. He believed that’s stopping them from even taking a look.

Auckland Council confirmed the map is based on topography (the arrangement of an area’s features) data from 2016. That same data also informs Gumbrell’s LIM, a document that identifies any hazard information a council holds on a property.

So the map reflects the landscape as it existed 10 years ago, said Andrew Chin, head of strategic initiatives in the council’s Healthy Waters department.

Which is before Gumbrell’s home and 864 others (including 546 houses and 170 townhouses) were built within the Huapai Triangle Special Housing Area, about 25km north-west of Auckland CBD.

Gumbrell’s home is one of 865 dwellings built in the Huapai Triangle Special Housing Area since January 2017.

That means Gumbrell’s flood map and LIM don’t take into account the changes to the land made by the developers.

Chin said a LIM is a “snapshot in time”, and the council is not required to update natural-hazard information immediately whenever development occurs.

“And given the scale of construction across Auckland, it would be impracticable to continuously remodel every catchment for every change in topography as soon as earthworks are completed.

“As the data used is from 2016, when requested, we have provided a written acknowledgement of this to property owners.

Auckland Council's Flood Viewer site shows the Lumbarda Drive property is in a floodplain, but the map is based on data from 2016.

“In the letter, we acknowledge that this means that the maps may not reflect changes made on the property, including flood mitigation measures that may have been introduced by development,” Chin said.

The council is also in the process of adding a clarifying statement to LIM reports, to indicate when the data used to model the hazard risk was gathered, he said.

For Gumbrell, the letter is little help, as it doesn’t change what the online flood maps show.

“It just says ‘the data could potentially be out of date, buyer do your proper consultation before purchase’. That does nothing for my listing. It certainly does nothing to help anybody else in the area.”

But is it just the market?

Gumbrell says all he experienced during severe weather in January 2023 was soggy grass.

Gumbrell’s real estate agent, Diego Traglia, said, yes, interest is down, but it’s way down for this property, and that’s because “one of the most important things to buyers is displayed wrongly”.

The home is “very much first home buyers’ bread and butter”, and, generally first home buyers are nervous, Traglia said.

“Everyone is telling them to be careful of what they’re buying. If the council is saying it’s in a flood area, that’s concerning for them, their bank and insurance.”

Extensive flooding in the area in 2021 and 2023 made headlines, and has added to buyers’ cautiousness, Traglia said.

During the 2023 floods, Gumbrell said he stood on his front doorstep and watched rainwater flowing down the street and into the drain, and all he experienced was soggy grass.

“We were absolutely fine here.”

Updating the flood maps

Since that severe weather hit the Auckland region in early 2023, public awareness of flood risk had increased, Chin said.

Have outdated flood maps impacted you? Email erin.johnson@stuffdigital.co.nz

The council is currently rebuilding all floodplain models with data captured in 2024, but it’s detailed, technical work, done area by area, and the updated maps for the Kumeū-Huapai area won’t be completed until late 2026, he said.

Chin encouraged Aucklanders to use a LIM report to further their due diligence requirements, “like ordering a copy of the council’s property file, reaching out to our technical specialists or seeking opinions and/or advice from independent third-party specialists.”