Dangerous, Affected or Insanitary Buildings

We’re committed to making our district safe. One way we do this is by making sure local buildings don’t pose any danger.

Discover why we may classify a building as dangerous, affected or insanitary and what this means.

What is a dangerous, affected or insanitary building?

A dangerous, affected or insanitary building might:

be older and/or poorly maintained
be currently used for something it wasn’t designed for
have suffered a structural failure or be in a state of disrepair that means it could collapse.
sanitary facilities such as non-functioning toilets, washing and bathing facilities
a potable (drinkable) water supply
weather tightness - has insufficient or defective provisions against moisture penetration so as to cause dampness in the building or in any adjoining building.

How do I report a suspected dangerous, affected or insanitary building?

If you believe that there is a dangerous, affected or insanitary building, please let us know. You can do this by:

Calling Council on 0800 926 732. Our friendly customer services team will log a service request and someone from the Building Act Compliance team will be in contact with you and investigate. Your details will not be shared with anyone.
Emailing the Building Act Compliance team at: buildingcomplianceadmin@westernbay.govt.nz
Through the Antenno mobile phone app
On our online form.

What happens?

1. What we do:

We check:

if there has been any unauthorised building work and/or change of use
the standard of maintenance of any specified systems
the state of repair of building structures and services
the safety level of the building.

And we make sure that:

people use buildings safely and without endangering their health
people can escape from a building in an emergency
buildings are unlikely to cause injury or death to persons on other property, or damage to other property.

If there’s a problem with a building, our Building Act Compliance team will work with the building owner to find a way to get the building back to a safe, healthy state.

2. What you do:

If you are a building owner, you:

are legally responsible for ensuring the maintenance and compliance of your building
should employ a building surveyor if you think your building may be dangerous, affected or insanitary
should take immediate steps to make sure your building, and any occupants, are safe if you discover the building is dangerous, affected or insanitary.

Interested buyers and renters can:

ask an expert to check the building you want to buy or rent
look for the building’s warrant of fitness certificate (BWoF) in the foyer or entrance and check this is up to date.

For more information or if you think a building might be dangerous, affected or insanitary, contact us.

Email: buildingcomplianceadmin@westernbay.govt.nz
Phone: 0800 926 732

The Legislation

The objective of the dangerous, affected and insanitary building legislation is to ensure that people who use buildings can do so safely and without endangering their health.

A building is considered to be dangerous, affected and insanitary when it meets Sections 121, 121A and 123 of the Building Act 2004 as follows:

A building is dangerous for the purposes of this Act if,

in the ordinary course of events (excluding the occurrence of an earthquake), the building is likely to cause—
- injury or death (whether by collapse or otherwise) to any persons in it or to persons on other property; or
- damage to other property; or
in the event of fire, injury or death to any persons in the building or to persons on other property is likely.

A building is affected for the purposes of this Act if it is adjacent to, adjoining, or nearby—

a dangerous building as defined in section 121; or
a dangerous dam within the meaning of section 153.

A building is insanitary for the purposes of this Act if the building—

is offensive or likely to be injurious to health because—
- of how it is situated or constructed; or
- it is in a state of disrepair; or
has insufficient or defective provisions against moisture penetration so as to cause dampness in the building or in any adjoining building; or
does not have a supply of potable water that is adequate for its intended use; or
does not have sanitary facilities that are adequate for its intended use.

What if I fail to comply?

If you fail to comply with this notice you commit an offence under Section 124 of the Building Act 2004 and may be liable to a fine of up to $200,000.

Under Section 126 of the Building Act 2004 the Council may carry out work if the work outlined above is not carried out and the owner of the property will be liable for any costs incurred.

If a Territorial Authority has put up a hoarding or fence in relation to a building or attached a notice warning people not to approach a building under Section 124(1), no person may -

i. Use or occupy the building; or

ii. Permit another person to use or occupy the building.

If you fail to comply you commit an offence under section 128 of the Building Act 2004 and may be liable for a fine of up to $200,000 and a further fine of up to $20,000 for each day or part of a day that you fail to comply with this notice.

Council's Role

Council adopted a policy in 2017 outlining the steps that they will take in dealing with dangerous, affected and insanitary buildings.

When a dangerous or affected building is deemed to be immediately dangerous, Council will act immediately by following the procedures set out in the Act.

When a building is deemed to be a dangerous or affected building, but not immediately dangerous, Council will liaise and consult with the relevant owners and encourage the owners to produce a mutually acceptable formal proposal on how the problem will be rectified.

If after a reasonable time-period a mutually acceptable formal proposal has not been achieved, Council will take further steps to address the problem by following the procedures set out in the Act which may include but is not limited to:

Putting up a safety barrier to prevent people from approaching the building
attach a notice on to the building that warns people not to approach the building
issue a notice for work to be completed on the building that will reduce or remove the danger or prevent the building from remaining unsanitary
issue a notice that restricts entry to the building for particular purposes or for particular persons or groups of persons.

If the building is still not brought up to the required standards, the Territorial Authority (Council) may apply to the District Court for an order authorizing them to rectify the issues themselves. If Council is to take this path, they will need to give 10 days’ written notice to the owner of their intention to do so. The cost of repair work or demolition work can be recovered from the owner.

Information relating to dangerous buildings will be recorded against the property file held at Council and will be provided on any LIM produced for the property.

View Council's Policy here.