The earthquake-prone building system will be refocused to reduce repair costs and reinvigorate communities, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.
“While well intentioned, the current system for assessing and managing seismic risk in buildings places an overwhelming financial burden on building owners.
“For many buildings, the price of strengthening runs from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars. As a result, these buildings are often left empty and become derelict, making them even more dangerous to bystanders in an earthquake.
“Cities and regions are losing the businesses, churches, town halls and classrooms that are central to their local economies and community spirit.
“On top of this, apartment and small business owners who cannot afford the fixes demanded by the current laws have faced years of stress and sleepless nights, as their most valuable asset has become unsaleable through no fault of their own.
“Today, I am announcing a change to a fairer, risk-based system that will bring enormous relief by lowering costs for building owners, while keeping Kiwis safe.
“The Government is removing the New Building Standard (NBS) ratings currently used by engineers to determine whether a property is earthquake-prone.
“The NBS rates how an existing building is expected to perform in an earthquake compared to a new building and has proven too broad and inconsistent.
“A building’s overall risk status is determined by its weakest part, meaning even a small defect can result in an entire building being classified as earthquake-prone.
“The new earthquake-prone building (EPB) system will capture only buildings that pose a genuine risk to human life in medium and high seismic zones.
“This category includes concrete buildings three storeys or higher, and those constructed with unreinforced masonry.
“Auckland, Northland and the Chatham Islands will be removed from the regime entirely to reflect the low seismic risk in those areas.
GNS Science estimated that earthquake laws in Auckland would save three lives every 10,000 years, at a cost of billions. That got the cost and the risk completely out of kilter.
“Unreinforced masonry buildings under three storeys in small and rural towns will no longer require remediation or warning notices, but owners must secure the façade before the building can be removed from the earthquake-prone register.
Replacing blanket rules with this risk-based approach is sensible.
“This change recognises that the risk of a façade falling on a pedestrian is simply lower in communities with fewer than 10,000 residents than it is in larger urban centres, because there are fewer people on the streets.
“For buildings that still require some remediation, the Government is removing the rule that owners must upgrade fire safety and disability access at the same time as earthquake strengthening.
“This requirement can add significantly to building costs and has discouraged owners from carrying out essential seismic safety work.
Buildings have remained empty because owners couldn’t afford the earthquake strengthening, much of which was not justified by the risk posed.
“Ministers will also consider further regulatory relief, including changes to resource management and heritage rules.
“Finally, local councils will have the authority to grant extensions to remediation deadlines of up to 15 years, giving building owners time to secure funding, plan and carry out any major work still required.
“This refocused earthquake-prone building system is expected to save New Zealanders more than $8.2 billion in remediation and demolition costs.
“The changes give effect to recommendations from an independent review led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
“The review confirmed what has always been clear: protecting human life must remain our top priority.
“It also recognised the need for a fairer balance between costs and the real risks buildings pose, so that strengthening work is achievable.
“The Government is ensuring New Zealanders can get on with the work that matters, so that our businesses, regional communities and cities can thrive.”
You can read the fact sheet here.
The changes will remove about 55% of earthquake prone buildings from the system, some 1,440 will need more cost-effective remediation requirements and 840 won’t need any remedial work at all.
Only around 80 buildings pose a risk that will require a full retrofit.
Has any other policy change resulted in saving more than $8.2 billion?
That’s a very substantial amount of money and the benefits aren’t just in savings, they’re also in enabling buildings that have been standing empty being able to be used again.
Stringent regulations were introduced after the Canterbury earthquakes but as too often happens, they went too far with a blanket approach which put costs in many places too far above risk and benefits.
The change is a common sense and risk-based approached that applies appropriate standards only where they are needed.
Ele Ludemann is a North Otago farmer and journalist, who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
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