The Government has introduced the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill, proposing a major reset of how earthquake-prone buildings (EPBs) are identified and managed across New Zealand.
Property Council strongly welcomes this reform. The Bill moves the system toward a more practical, risk-based approach, focusing effort where the risks are greatest. In short, the focus shifts to higher-risk building types in medium and high seismic zones, rather than a one-size-fits-all model.
The diagram below shows how this new framework will apply:
Two weeks ago, we met with our Seismic Strengthening Taskforce to formulate our positions. The workshop sparked some engaging discussion, and we walked away with some useful insights.
As you’d expect, there were different perspectives around the table, but there was clear, overall support for reform. Here are some of the key takeaways:
- Property Council supports limiting regulation to medium and high seismic zones.
- Property Council supports removing earthquake ratings, including the NBS% rating system.
- Property Council supports narrowing the category of priority buildings, so effort is focused on genuine risk.
- Property Council supports the extended 15-year remediation timeframe, which better reflects commercial and practical realities.
If you would like to see our draft submission and provide feedback, please get in touch with Sandamali by COB Monday, 9 February 2026.
🎥 Watch: In the accompanying video, Sandamali provides an overview of the Bill, what it means for the sector, and how members can get involved.
Submissions are due Monday, 16 February 2026.
Author | Sandamali Ambepitiya
Sandamali arrived at Property Council with a Bachelor of Arts and Law, and experience as an advisor with the Employers & Manufacturers Association.
Conscientious and detailed, Sandamali leads our advocacy in the South Island and Wellington regions. She is also leading our work on the reform of the resource management and building systems and sustainability / seismic strengthening.
An excellent listener, Sandamali is in her element when facilitating stakeholders and members to develop our advocacy positions.
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