Building Act 2004

Building - Special provisions for earthquake-prone buildings - Powers of territorial authorities in respect of earthquake-prone buildings

133AS: Territorial authority may carry out seismic work

You could also call this:

"Council can fix earthquake-unsafe buildings if owners don't"

If a building has an EPB notice and the seismic work is not done on time, or it's not being done quickly enough, you need to know what happens next. The territorial authority can ask the District Court for permission to do the seismic work themselves, but they must give the building owner at least 10 days' written notice first. If the territorial authority does the work, the building owner has to pay for it, and the authority can take the owner to court to get the money back, which then becomes a charge on the land where the work was done. You can find more information about the deadlines in section 133AM, 133AMA, 133AMB, or 133AMC. The territorial authority can even demolish the building or part of it if that's what's needed to make it safe.

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This page was last updated on 19 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7333526.

Topics:

Housing and property > Home safety and repairs

133AR: Territorial authority may impose safety requirements, or

"The city council can make rules to keep people safe around wobbly buildings that might fall down in an earthquake."

133AT: Alterations to buildings subject to EPB notice, or

"Rules for changing buildings that might fall down in an earthquake"

Part 2Building
Special provisions for earthquake-prone buildings: Powers of territorial authorities in respect of earthquake-prone buildings

133ASTerritorial authority may carry out seismic work

This section applies if seismic work on a building or a part of a building that is subject to an EPB notice is not completed by the deadline that applies under section 133AM, 133AMA, 133AMB, or 133AMC, or is not proceeding with reasonable speed in the light of that deadline.
The territorial authority may apply to the District Court for an order authorising the territorial authority to carry out seismic work on the building or the part of the building.
Before the territorial authority applies to the District Court under subsection (2), the territorial authority must give the owner of the building or the part of the building not less than 10 days' written notice of its intention to do so.
If a territorial authority carries out seismic work on a building or a part of a building under the authority of an order made under subsection (2),—
the owner of the building or part is liable for the costs of the work; and
the territorial authority may recover those costs from the owner; and
the amount recoverable by the territorial authority becomes a charge on the land on which the work was carried out.

Seismic work authorised to be done under this section may include the demolition of a building or part of a building.

Notes

Section 133AS: inserted, on 1 July 2017, by section 24 of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 22).
Section 133AS(1): amended, on 26 November 2024, by section 19 of the Building (Earthquake-prone Building Deadlines and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 49).