NZ Parliament Passes Reforms for Earthquake-Prone Buildings
New Zealand's parliament has passed legislation to reform its earthquake-prone building system. The reforms aim to remove around half of the buildings currently designated as earthquake-prone from the system and save building owners and the economy $4.7 billion.
The new system will focus on buildings that pose the greatest risk to life, with high-risk unreinforced masonry buildings and vulnerable multi-story concrete buildings in high and medium seismic zones continuing to be subject to requirements. Councils will also retain the ability to identify serious seismic risks that may have been missed.
The updated seismic zones, based on the latest seismic science, will take effect the day after the legislation receives formal approval. Buildings in Auckland, the Chatham Islands, and the upper North Island low seismic zone will be entirely removed from the earthquake-prone building system.