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Building Act 2004

Building - Special provisions for dangerous, affected, and insanitary buildings - Powers of territorial authorities in respect of dangerous, affected, or insanitary buildings

126: Territorial authority may carry out work

You could also call this:

“If the building owner doesn't fix the problem, the local council can ask a judge for permission to do the work themselves and make the owner pay for it.”

You can ask the District Court for permission to do building work if someone doesn’t finish the work you told them to do. This might happen if they don’t complete the work by the date you gave them, or if they’re taking too long. But before you ask the court, you must tell the building owner in writing at least 10 days before you plan to go to court.

If the court says yes and you do the building work, the building owner has to pay for it. You can make the owner pay you back for the work. The money the owner owes you becomes a charge on their land, which means you have a legal claim to that money.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM307302.

Topics:
Housing and property > Home safety and repairs
Government and voting > Local councils
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125: Requirements for notice requiring building work or restricting entry, or

“Rules for writing and sharing notices about fixing unsafe buildings or stopping people from going inside them”

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127: Building work includes demolition of building, or

“Tearing down buildings can be part of fixing dangerous or unhealthy buildings.”

Part 2 Building
Special provisions for dangerous, affected, and insanitary buildings: Powers of territorial authorities in respect of dangerous, affected, or insanitary buildings

126Territorial authority may carry out work

  1. A territorial authority may apply to the District Court for an order authorising the territorial authority to carry out building work if any work required under a notice issued by the territorial authority under section 124(2)(c) is not completed, or not proceeding with reasonable speed, within—

  2. the time stated in the notice; or
    1. any further time that the territorial authority may allow.

      1. Before the territorial authority applies to the District Court under subsection (1), the territorial authority must give the owner of the building not less than 10 days' written notice of its intention to do so.

      2. If a territorial authority carries out building work under the authority of an order made under subsection (1),—

      3. the owner of the building is liable for the costs of the work; and
        1. the territorial authority may recover those costs from the owner; and
          1. the amount recoverable by the territorial authority becomes a charge on the land on which the work was carried out.

            Compare
              Notes
              • Section 126(1): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
              • Section 126(1): amended, on , by section 32 of the Building Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 100).
              • Section 126(2): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).