Building owners face legal threat
Court action is possible for the owners of 10 earthquake-buildings in Lower Hutt who have demonstrated a distinct lack of action to make their properties safe.
Owners could face a $200,000 fine, while the Hutt City Council could also issue an order to prevent people from living in or using the buildings.
Council staff this week told city councillors there were 21 earthquake-prone buildings in Lower Hutt that have missed various strengthening deadlines.
Officers are concentrating on 10 buildings where there has been a notable lack of progress. That list contains two bars, as well as two buildings owned by WelTec and one by Wellington property developer Ian Cassels.
Also on the list is the wellknown Naenae Hotel, which has about 30 people living in it.
In July, the council prosecuted the owners of an apartment block on Jackson St in Petone for failing to strengthen it. The prosecution was the first of its kind in this country.
At the time, Hutt City Council’s divisional manager for environmental consents Helen Oram said the sentence set an important legal precedent and should serve as a warning to other owners.
‘‘The fundamental issue for us is we were concerned for the risk to the tenants, their visitors and pedestrians. We wanted to make it clear that we wouldn’t tolerate any delaying tactics [by building owners].’’
Kim Kelly, the council’s general manager of city transformation, said the earthquakeprone buildings on its list would be assessed for evidence the owner was serious about strengthening or demolition.
When it came to the Naenae Hotel, Kelly said one of the factors in deciding what action council would take was whether the building was occupied and its level of public use.
The council could issue a notice stopping it from being used, but had a long process to follow before it could do that, he said.
Naenae Hotel building owner Suresh Dayal said he was confident it would be strengthened by the end of the year.
‘‘It is all under control, our architects are doing the engineering assessment as we speak.’’
Finding engineers with the necessary expertise had been difficult after the November 2016 earthquake, he said.
Alan Osborne, who leases the building from Dayal, confirmed engineers had been on site.
WelTec chief executive Chris Gosling said that both its buildings, including the former Petone Courthouse, had been unoccupied for sometime. ‘‘Both are surplus to our requirements and we have been actively exploring options for disposal. We have kept the city council informed throughout this process.’’