Priority Buildings
Priority buildings are considered a higher risk because of their construction type, use or location. They have a shorter time frame for carrying out seismic work.
How priority buildings are identified
Priority buildings will be identified by one or more of the following ways:
- Buildings that are used as an emergency service or education centre: This includes some hospitals, civil defence buildings, schools, university buildings, early childhood education centres and private training establishments. These buildings will have 12.5 years to strengthen the entire building.
- Buildings that could collapse in an earthquake and block an emergency transport route: These buildings will have 12.5 years to strengthen the entire building.
- Buildings with unreinforced masonry (URM) that could fall onto a high traffic route: These buildings will have two time frames: 12.5 years to strengthen any URM elements that could fall onto the route, and the remainder of 25 years to strengthen the rest of the building.
An emergency transport route is a road/route identified as critical for emergency response.
A high traffic route is a street, road, or thoroughfare with high numbers of pedestrian or vehicle traffic.
URM buildings contain clay brick, concrete block, or natural stone units bound together using lime or cement mortar, without reinforcing elements such as steel reinforcing bars. This can also include strengthened URM buildings, unless there is evidence that the strengthening has achieved at least 34% NBS.
If you have strengthened the URM parts of the building
Buildings identified as a priority exclusively because they have URM that could fall onto a high traffic route are only required to have those URM elements strengthened within the initial 12.5 year time frame. If you believe that you have done so, and because of this your building is no longer a priority building, contact the Building Compliance team at buildingcomplianceadmin@westernbay.govt.nz to update your building’s status.
If a building has been identified as a priority because of its use or because it is on an emergency transport route
When the original deadline is more than 12.5 years away.
The updated notice will be adjusted with the shorter 12.5 year deadline.
Example: The building at 30 Example Terrace was identified as earthquake-prone in January 2023. The deadline to complete seismic work was 25 years (January 2048). Under the national EPB programme, the Council identifies that the building is on an emergency transport route and is therefore categorised as a priority building. An updated earthquake-prone building notice is issued in July 2023 and as the original deadline for strengthening is in 24 years, the updated notice is reduced to 12.5 years (from when the updated notice is issued).
If a building has been identified as a priority exclusively because it has URM that could fall onto a high traffic route
When the original deadline is between 12.5 years and 25 years away.
The updated notice will have two time frames: 12.5 years to strengthen any URM elements that could fall onto the route, and until the original deadline to strengthen the rest of the building.
Example: The building at 69 Example Road was identified as an earthquake-prone building in January 2015. The deadline to complete seismic work was 25 years (January 2040). Under the national EPB programme, the Council identifies that the building has URM that could fall onto a high traffic route, and is therefore categorised as a priority building. An updated earthquake-prone building notice is issued in July 2019. The original deadline is in 21 years, so any URM elements that could fall onto the route must be strengthened within 12.5 years (January 2032) and the rest of the building must be strengthened by the original deadline (January 2040).
