Your responsibilities as the owner of an earthquake-prone building
If a building is confirmed to be earthquake-prone we will issue an earthquake-prone building notice. The building owner must attach it in a prominent place on or next to the building.
If your earthquake-building notice is not displayed
Building owners are required to notify the Council if the earthquake-prone building notice is no longer displayed, or becomes illegible.
If the notice is not displayed in a prominent place, building owners are liable to a fine of $20,000. We will carry out inspections from time to time to make sure notices are being displayed as required.
To order an extra or replacement notice, email buildingresilience@wcc.govt.nz
How to display your notice
You must display your notice in a way that it can clearly be seen by people entering, approaching or passing the building.
Display it:
- at each entrance and facing the street
- fixed to the inside of windows facing out so that they are not affected by weather
- at eye level, or at the lower corner of a window (but at least 500mm off the ground) so that they do not obscure window displays etc.
Additional notices displayed in internal lobbies should be located on a wall visible as the door is opened, at eye level.
For exterior plaster and masonry surfaces a board may need to be installed, so that notice can be securely attached to this. Alternatively the notice could be printed onto a material such as core-flute and this could then be fixed to the building.
Example: A suburban block of shops with business or apartments on the upper floor.
- The notice should be displayed at each ground floor entrance so that it is clear that each shop is part of the overall earthquake-prone building.
- A copy of the notice should also be displayed inside the lobby which accesses the upper floor.
Example: A block of apartments which share a common access lobby.
- The notice should be displayed on the front of the building adjoining the main access.
- A copy of the notice should also be displayed inside the lobby which accesses the apartments.
Example: A block of residential flats each with a separate entrance.
- The notice should be displayed on the front of the building at the main access.
- A copy of the notice should be displayed at the entrance of each flat.