Find out about our services, places and facilities at Alert Level 1.
Read moreSections 71-74 of the Building Act 2004 deal with building on land that is subject to natural hazards.
Natural hazards include:
Building on hazardous land creates difficulties for the land owner and Council.
Section 72 offers a solution by allowing (in certain situations) an owner to take on the risk of building on hazardous land. It requires that a warning is placed on the legal title. This warns future property owners of the potential hazard, and reduces Council and EQC's liability if the land is damaged because of the hazard.
In almost all cases, issuing a building consent confirms that the building work undertaken will comply with the building code.
A hazard notice relates to the land and not the building. Hazard notices can affect things like your ability to get insurance and sell the property.
If you think natural hazards may apply to your project, we recommend:
If Council considers that the land is subject to a hazard, we must:
Before we do this, we will ask the owner to acknowledge (in writing) that they understand the implications of this, and provide an opportunity for further discussion.