What the records show
Of 404,139 blocks, 316,963 have road frontage to a formed road. For 66,320 of them, every formed road they front is shown as unsealed, usually metalled, in LINZ’s 1:50,000 road centrelines. That surface data can be out of date: a road sealed in the last few years may still show as metalled.
By region
| Region | Blocks | Unsealed road frontage only | Share of blocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southland | 21,847 | 6,858 | 31.4% |
| Northland | 46,121 | 13,187 | 28.6% |
| Otago | 29,457 | 8,050 | 27.3% |
| Canterbury | 51,187 | 10,350 | 20.2% |
| Gisborne | 7,800 | 1,486 | 19.1% |
| Tasman | 11,078 | 1,863 | 16.8% |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 39,863 | 5,863 | 14.7% |
| West Coast | 10,314 | 1,312 | 12.7% |
| Auckland | 39,004 | 4,931 | 12.6% |
| Marlborough | 8,921 | 971 | 10.9% |
| Hawke’s Bay | 18,179 | 1,943 | 10.7% |
| Wellington | 18,954 | 1,761 | 9.3% |
| Waikato | 58,493 | 5,112 | 8.7% |
| Bay of Plenty | 23,519 | 1,524 | 6.5% |
| Taranaki | 18,349 | 1,050 | 5.7% |
| Nelson | 1,052 | 59 | 5.6% |
Why it matters
An unsealed road brings dust in summer, corrugations and potholes, and slower trips in wet weather. It can shape how a stock truck, a school bus or a delivery gets in, and it affects running costs for whoever lives at the end of it.
What to ask
- Ask the council whether the road is a council road it maintains, and whether any sealing is planned.
- Drive it in wet weather if you can, and ask neighbours how it holds up through winter.
- Every Lotline report lists each road the block fronts, whether it’s formed, and the surface the maps show.
Check a block’s road frontage with the free lookup, or see the example reports.