Quake-prone buildings

THE New Zealand Government is moving to take pressure off owners with earthquake-prone buildings in small towns, but others argue more needs to be done to ease the burden.

Under the current system, strengthening work needs to occur if alterations to a building needing a consent add up to at least 25 per cent of the building’s value, meaning low-value buildings are more likely to be affected.

Building and Construction Minister Jenny Salesa said small towns were disproportionately affected by the regulations.

“One of the mayors actually put it this way, that the way the legislation affects provincial and small towns is that the legislation will convert some of these small towns into ghost towns,” she said.

Ms Salesa said that’s why the government is going to change the definition of what’s classed as substantial alterations.

“It will be substantial if it needs a building consent together with other consented work over the last couple of years, to the value of 25 per cent value of the building, but only if the value of the building work is greater than $NZ150,000 ($F215,706),” she said.

Manawatu district mayor Helen Worboys said that change was good but it didn’t reduce the overall costs of strengthening a building.

“One rule doesn’t fit all. It might work in the cities where the return on investment is so much higher, but to expect building owners in a very short timeframe to do this work they just need a bit more time, a bit more incentivising to help them do that.”