Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Bill
This bill changes the rules about which buildings in New Zealand are officially classed as earthquake-prone and what their owners must do to make them safer. Under the new rules, only certain types of buildings in medium and high earthquake-risk areas would be covered — mainly older concrete or brick buildings. Buildings in low-risk areas like Auckland and Northland would no longer be on the list. Owners of affected buildings would have more flexible options and longer timeframes to carry out safety work, and doing that work would no longer automatically trigger costly upgrades to disability access or fire escapes.
What this affects
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Multi-storey apartment buildings in medium and high earthquake-risk areas could still be classed as earthquake-prone and may need costly structural strengthening work.
While remediation costs would fall for most of the buildings that would remain EPBs under the new system, they would remain high for around 300 multi-storey buildings. These buildings are concentrated in major cities, particularly Wellington, and many are apartment buildings.
a building that comprises 2 or more storeys; and either — (i) is a hostel, boardinghouse, or other specialised accommodation; or (ii) contains 3 or more household units.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 15 February 2026.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.