Tenants unaware
The Blenheim sale listing said it needed quake strengthening but some tenants didn’t know it was dangerous.
The sale listing says ‘‘does require earthquake strengthening’’, but some tenants had no idea their block of flats had been given a ‘‘dangerous building’’ notice.
An engineer’s report on Blenheim’s Haddin Court Flats in 2010 showed the building at 4 per cent of the new building standard.
Buildings must have a structural performance greater than 33 per cent to be legally acceptable.
A further assessment was carried out this year but neither the engineers nor the council could provide the results.
The sale listing, which went up at the end of last month, said the 1930s property did ‘‘require earthquake strengthening’’, but advertised the 15 flats as having ‘‘plenty of scope for rental returns’’.
The building, on the corner of Maxwell Rd and and Stephenson St, had a rating valuation of $1.35 million.
Rent was $175 a week for a single and $210 for a double.
The 2010 report, commissioned by the Marlborough District Council, gave the Nelson owners a 2021 deadline to carry out the earthquake strengthening.
A council spokeswoman said after the initial assessment the owners were issued with a dangerous building (earthquake) notice and no resource consents had been sought for building repair work since the assessment.
Building appendages, such as chimneys and parapets, were not included in the initial report.
The owner could not be reached for comment.
A Haddin Court tenant, who did not want to be named, said she had lived in the flats for two years, but was never told strengthening was required.
‘‘I told them that I do have some cracks on the ceiling and they said this building is so strong that if this building falls over the whole of Blenheim will be gone.’’
Another woman, who did not want to be named, said she found out the building needed strengthening after it was put up for sale.
‘‘They didn’t tell us that they needed to do something like that.
‘‘Last time when there was the quake they said it was all right. They said from the outside it looks scary but they said it’s OK.’’
However, the daughter of a tenant said she did know about the work needed, but was horrified that some residents did not know.
Nic Annear’s elderly mother had lived at Haddin Court for six years and said she received a letter about the building’s earthquake strengthening. ‘‘You would actually think that as each new person got their tenancy agreement that a copy of that would be added to it,’’ she said.
Annear said her mother was due to move out of the flats soon.
‘‘It shakes like anything, man. It just rolls.’’