What to expect from flood-damaged building inspections

Auckland Council is undertaking rapid building assessments across Tāmaki Makaurau to determine whether a building is safe to occupy and whether it poses a safety risk to others.

Initial assessments are rapid – taking about 20 minutes – and can sometimes be completed by inspectors from outside the building, without needing to enter.

Following an inspection, a building will receive either a white, yellow or red placard – or sticker.

The placards are a legal instruction and only authorised officials can place, change or remove them.

White placards indicate a building has suffered light or no damage and can be used. However, a white placard doesn't necessarily mean the building is safe, as there could be unobserved damage. Owners of white-stickered buildings may still want to get their own engineering checks done.

Yellow placards indicate a building may have sustained moderate damage and access is restricted. This generally means either some identified areas of the building pose a significant hazard and cannot be used, or that the public cannot enter except under supervision for a limited time on essential business. This could include emergency or assessment purposes, for example, or removing critical business records, valuables and property.

Red placards indicate a building cannot be used and entry is prohibited because it has sustained moderate or heavy damage and poses a significant risk to health or life. This could be from the building itself, from external factors such as adjacent buildings, or from ground failure.

For more information on rapid building assessments, please visit building.govt.nz

Building owners have a responsibility to ensure their buildings remain structurally sound following a major disaster. They must also continue to comply with their obligations in relation to health and safety, tenancy and lease agreements, and any other contracts.

Building owners also have an obligation to help authorised officials carry out their inspection duties following an event.

For more information for building owners, please visit building.govt.nz

Rapid assessments are an initial safety check. Please contact your insurer as a first step and depending on the damage to your property, you may need to speak to a suitably qualified builder or chartered professional engineer.