A building is considered earthquake-prone if an engineering analysis shows it is 33% or less of the new building standard. In essence, this means the building has a seismic capacity less than one third of the level required for a new building.
Under new national legislation that came into effect on 1 July 2017, building owners across Christchurch and Banks Peninsula have between 7.5 and 15 years to strengthen or demolish their earthquake-prone buildings, depending on a range of factors.
This list of owners includes Christchurch City Council, and due to the type and usage of our buildings, for most of our buildings, we have a period of 15 years from the date that the earthquake-prone building notice was issued.
Other than the buildings which are under repair, our buildings remain fit to occupy, according to advice from independent chartered professional engineers.
The Council has already been proactively repairing many of these buildings and has ongoing programmes for this work to continue. A number of the earthquake-prone buildings identified are currently being repaired and strengthened, or are included in future work programmes.
Find out more about the general rules around earthquake-prone buildings and how the Council can help you if you're the owner of one.
Some council-owned buildings are considered earthquake-prone. These can be identified using the MBIE earthquake-prone building register(external link).
Section 133AL notices have been issued under the 2016 Amendment to the Building Act, which requires earthquake-prone buildings to be strengthened or demolished within either seven and a half or 15 years, depending on the type of building and how it’s used. Until this is done, building owners must display the section 133AL notice in a prominent place so the public is aware of the building’s status.
Christchurch City Council’s consents team has sent letters containing these section133AL notices to the owners of every building in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula that is considered earthquake-prone. The Council is also receiving these letters for the earthquake-prone buildings it owns. These letters are to remind owners of their legal obligations to strengthen or demolish their buildings.
Like other building owners, the Council is required to place the notices that have been received onto affected buildings to advise the public of their earthquake-prone status. The Council is meeting legislative requirements by posting the notices on its buildings but the buildings can be occupied, as confirmed by our independent engineers.
All Council-owned buildings have undergone detailed engineering evaluations. These are available on request by emailing dees@ccc.govt.nz