Some existing sections have limited, or very little, survey data available to support good boundary determination. There are a number of reasons why this may have come about, due mainly to the historical nature of the survey records. Many records were destroyed in the 1931 Hawkes Bay Earthquake, resulting in gaps in the available data defining the section boundaries.

Some Certificates of Title are marked with Limitations, indicating that problems exist with their boundary definition. Such examples of title deficiencies must be corrected at certain times of section redevelopment. Boundary certainty may, in some circumstances, involve considerable new survey to legally determine the boundary, and the required procedures are set out, in legislation, to achieve this.