Earthquake Prone Buildings
Managing earthquake-prone buildings
Aotearoa New Zealand has a national system for managing earthquake-prone buildings, which came into effect in July 2017
This system aims to inform owners of earthquake-prone buildings, territorial authorities (local councils), engineers, other building professionals and building users.
Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016.
Timeframe extensions for remediation deadlines
The Government has passed the Building (Earthquake-prone Building Deadlines and Other Matters) Amendment Act that will extend earthquake-prone building remediation deadlines by 4 years.
Buildings that have an earthquake-prone building (EPB) notice with a deadline on or after 2 April 2024 will have a 4-year extension to their notice expiry. There will an option for the Government to extend up to a further 2 years. This is to allow owners of earthquake-prone buildings additional time to remediate their buildings whilst the review takes place.
The extension does not apply to any EPB notices with an expiry on or prior to 1 April 2024. Territorial authorities should continue to follow up with owners of buildings with expired EPB notices.
How does the system work?
The system for managing earthquake-prone buildings targets buildings and parts of buildings that pose the greatest risk to public safety or other property in a moderate earthquake event.
Find out more about Managing earthquake-prone buildings.
Under the new system for managing earthquake-prone buildings territorial authorities, engineers and building owners have key roles to play:
- Territorial Authorities (TA) identify potentially earthquake-prone buildings
- Owners who are notified by their territorial authority must obtain engineering assessments of the building carried out by suitably qualified engineers
- Territorial Authorities determine whether buildings are earthquake-prone, assign ratings, issue notices and publish information about the buildings in a public register
- Owners are required to display notices on their building and to remediate their building.
Seismic Risk Zone
The Rangitikei District is within the High seismic risk zone.
Identifying potentially Earthquake-Prone Buildings
Territorial authorities (local councils) are required to identify potentially earthquake-prone buildings. The EPB methodology sets out how to do this.
Find out more about the process of identifying potentially earthquake-prone buildings.
Assessing potentially Earthquake-Prone Buildings
When a territorial authority identifies a building as potentially earthquake-prone, the building owner is required to provide an engineering assessment for their building within 12 months from the date they are notified. The building owner can apply for one extension of up to 12 months in certain circumstances.
Deciding if a building is Earthquake-Prone
Territorial authorities determine whether or not a building or part is earthquake prone. They normally make this decision after the building has been identified as potentially earthquake-prone and assessed by an engineer.
The following profile categories are used to identify potentially earthquake-prone buildings:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Category A | Unreinforced masonry buildings |
| Category B | Pre-1976 buildings that are either three or more storeys or 12 metres or greater in height above the lowest ground level (other than unreinforced masonry buildings in Category A) Pre-1976 buildings that are either three or more storeys or 12 metres or greater in height above the lowest ground level (other than unreinforced masonry buildings in Category A) |
| Category C | Pre-1935 buildings that are one or two storeys (other than unreinforced masonry buildings in Category A |
A key criteria for determining whether a building is earthquake-prone is whether the building or any element of it scores less than 34% when assessed against the National Building Standard (NBS).
Find out more:
- Information Sheet: Deciding if a building is earthquake-prone
- Guidance: The methodology to identify earthquake-prone buildings
- Guidance: Managing earthquake prone buildings
National Register of Earthquake Prone Buildings
Territorial authorities are required to publish information on buildings they have determined to be earthquake-prone in a national online register hosted by MBIE. The register is a public document.
Register of earthquake-prone buildings
Priority Buildings
Priority buildings are certain types of buildings in high and medium seismic risk areas that are considered to present a higher risk because of their construction, type, use or location. They may be buildings that are considered to pose a higher risk to life safety or buildings that are critical to recovery in an emergency.
Priority buildings need to be identified and remediated within half the time allowed for other buildings in the same seismic risk areas.
Find more information about the Guidance for Priority Building.