The Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 came into effect on 1 July 2017, amending the Building Act 2004. This overrides and replaces the earthquake-prone provisions of Councils’ former Earthquake-prone, Dangerous and Insanitary Building Policy 2006.
An overview and detail of the new regime are available on the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s Building Performance website(external link).
The council adopted this policy in March 2019.
Tasman District is in both a high and medium seismic risk area, according to the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016.
The high seismic risk area is south of Wakefield, Tapawera and includes Murchison, St Arnaud, Belgrove, Motupiko, and Kohatu. The medium seismic risk area includes Wakefield, Tapawera, and all points north.
Earthquake Prone Building Areas.pdf (pdf 2.2 MB)
We're at the early stages of this process, but over time we will write to affected building owners. Once buildings are identified they are added to the national register. View the Earthquake Prone Building Register(external link) The register contains earthquake-prone buildings in the Tasman District and throughout New Zealand.
The Council has set timeframes to identify buildings as either potentially earthquake-prone or not. Likewise, building owners have a set time to carry our seismic strengthening work.
The timeframes are set out in this table:
| Seismic risk | Council to identify buildings by | Owner to do seismic remediation within | ||
| Category | Priority buildings | Other buildings | Priority buildings | Other buildings |
| High risk | 1 January 2020 | 1 July 2022 | 7.5 years | 15 years |
| Medium risk | 1 July 2022 | 1 July 2027 | 12.5 years | 25 years |
If a building failure would have a significant impact on public safety or critical transport routes, it may be considered a priority building.
For example, hospitals, emergency services, civil defence, or education buildings may be critical to recovery in an emergency or natural disaster. Other earthquake-prone buildings may be priority buildings due to their location and the potential impact of their failure in an earthquake on critical transport routes.
You can visit the Ministry for Culture and (external link)Heritage(external link) website for a range of useful seismic upgrade project guidance. You can find out more about the Council funding available for heritage buildings here on our website.
Exemptions and Extensions
Applying the outcome of the decision
Tasman District Council Building Consents and Discretionary Exemptions
Engineering NZ
Heritage NZ
Priority Buildings
National Register
Register of earthquake-prone buildings
MBIE
New system for managing earthquake-prone buildings
Managing buildings
Managing earthquake-prone buildings
Methodology
Managing earthquake-prone buildings
Online learning – earthquake-prone buildings (EPB) courses
Building Performance: All courses
Engineers, in particular, are encouraged to take the 'Assess' course. There are also courses for building owners.
Worksafe
Dealing with earthquake-related health and safety risks: information for PCBUs and building owners
Responding to an Earthquake Prone Building Notification (a guide for building owners)
Q. What happens if I receive a letter advising my building is potentially earthquake prone?
Please read the contents of the letter to confirm all key information about your building is correct.
The Building Act (Clause 133AI) requires you to do one of three things:
If you advise us that you do not intend to provide an engineering assessment, or do not provide any required information to us by the due date, the TA will proceed as if it had determined the building is earthquake-prone and issue a notice (in the form prescribed for the lowest rating category of the earthquake prone building) in accordance with section 133AL(4) of the Building Act 2004. The TA may also obtain an engineering assessment of the building or part and recover the costs from you.
If there are any errors with the key information in the letter you received, please contact us: [email protected]
The TA may allow you an extension of time to provide the engineering assessment if you are having difficulty getting an engineer to complete it within the normal timeframe, but you will need to notify the TA in writing in advance to apply for an extension.
Seismic assessments should be discussed with your structural engineer. You can find an engineer using this website - engineeringnz.org
Q. What action is required if I receive an earthquake-prone building notice?
Once the Council issues an EPB Notice it must be displayed in a prominent place on or adjacent to the building.
The EPB notice will need to remain displayed and in place until such time as the territorial authority have notified you that the building or part is no longer earthquake prone and removed or authorised the removal of the EPB notice.
Q. What happens if I fail to display an earthquake-prone building notice?
The Council can issue a $1,000 infringement fee for failing to comply with the requirement to attach EPB notice or EPB exemption notice. Also, failing to notify the territorial authority when an EPB notice or EPB exemption notice ceases to be attached or becomes illegible. Building (Infringement Offences, Fees, and Forms) Regulations 2007 s133AU(1), s133AU(2).
If the notice ceases to be attached or becomes illegible, as the owner you are required to notify the territorial authority so a replacement notice can be issued and re-affixed to the building. Failure to do so could lead to a fine of up to $50,000 for an individual or $150,000 for a body corporate. The EPB notice will need to remain displayed and in place until such time as the territorial authority has notified you that the building or part is no longer earthquake prone and removed or authorised the removal of the EPB notice.
Q. What is an ISA and a DSA?
An ISA is an Initial Seismic Assessment giving a broad indication of the likely level of seismic performance of a building. This can be submitted to Council as evidence of a buildings' NBS%.
A DSA is a Detailed Seismic Assessment and is a comprehensive seismic report supplied by an engineer. This can be submitted to Council as evidence of a buildings' NBS %, and may be required after evaluation of an ISA, if supplied initially.
Q. Once I've supplied my assessment report what happens then?
Council will assess the report and either request further information or accept the findings and document its decision.
The Council will issue an EPB Notice when a building or part of a building has been identified as Earthquake Prone and subsequently will update the National Register.
If the reports confirm that the building or parts of the building are not considered earthquake-prone then the building owner will be advised and this information will be recorded on the property file.
Q. Are residential houses required to be assessed?
No.
If you have questions or want more information, email [email protected]
Last modified:
