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Building Act 2004

Building - Special provisions for earthquake-prone buildings - Remediation of earthquake-prone buildings

133AN: Owner may apply for exemption from requirement to carry out seismic work

You could also call this:

“Building owners can ask to be excused from making their buildings safer in earthquakes.”

If you own a building that has been identified as earthquake-prone, you can ask your local council for permission to not do the required earthquake strengthening work. You need to write to the council and pay any fees they charge for this.

The council must respond quickly. If your building meets certain criteria, the council will grant the exemption. They will give you a notice saying you don’t have to do the work, and they will update their records. If your building doesn’t meet the criteria, the council will tell you that you haven’t been granted an exemption.

If you get an exemption, the notice will say which building or part of the building it applies to, that you don’t have to do the earthquake strengthening work, and why the council gave you the exemption.

The council can check your exemption at any time. If your building no longer meets the criteria, they can cancel the exemption. Otherwise, the exemption stays in place until the council cancels it.

If the council cancels your exemption, they must quickly give you a new notice saying your building is earthquake-prone and update their records.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7333548.

Topics:
Housing and property > Home safety and repairs
Government and voting > Local councils
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133AM: Deadline for completing seismic work, or

“This law tells building owners when they need to fix or knock down unsafe buildings that might fall in an earthquake.”

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133AO: Owners of certain heritage buildings may apply for extension of time to complete seismic work, or

“People who own old, important buildings can ask for more time to make them safer in earthquakes.”

Part 2 Building
Special provisions for earthquake-prone buildings: Remediation of earthquake-prone buildings

133ANOwner may apply for exemption from requirement to carry out seismic work

  1. The owner of a building or a part of a building that is subject to an EPB notice may apply to a territorial authority for an exemption from the requirement to carry out seismic work on the building or part.

  2. An application must be in writing and must be accompanied by any fee imposed by the territorial authority under section 219.

  3. The territorial authority must deal with the application promptly, by doing one of the following:

  4. if the territorial authority is satisfied that the building or the part of the building has the prescribed characteristics (see section 401C(b)),—
    1. granting the exemption and issuing an EPB exemption notice; and
      1. recording the details of the exemption in the EPB register and updating other information in the EPB register as necessary; or
      2. notifying the owner in writing that the exemption has not been granted.

        1. An EPB exemption notice must—

        2. identify the building or the part of the building that is subject to an EPB notice; and
          1. state that the owner of the building or the part of the building is exempt from the requirement to carry out seismic work on the building or part; and
            1. give the territorial authority's reasons for granting the exemption.

              1. A territorial authority may review an exemption at any time, and may revoke it if satisfied that the building no longer has the prescribed characteristics.

              2. An exemption stays in force until the territorial authority revokes it.

              3. As soon as practicable after revoking an exemption, a territorial authority must—

              4. reissue an EPB notice under section 133AL for the building or the part of the building that is earthquake prone; and
                1. record the details of the revocation in the EPB register and update other information in the EPB register as necessary.

                  Notes
                  • Section 133AN: inserted, on , by section 24 of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 22).