MBIE - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zeland

09/29/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/28/2025 20:12

Earthquake-prone building system changes announced

Earthquake-prone building system changes announced

Published: 29 September 2025

The Government has announced proposed legislative changes aimed at making the earthquake-prone building (EPB) system more risk-based and proportionate, by focusing on higher seismic risk areas and high-risk buildings. A bill containing the proposed changes is expected to be introduced in coming months.

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The changes are designed to target buildings that pose the greatest risk to life safety, while improving affordability, reducing unnecessary costs and disruption, particularly in regional communities.

By enabling more cost-effective approaches to seismic strengthening, remediation will be more accessible for building owners than under the current settings.

The proposed changes include:

  • Removing low risk buildings and buildings in low seismic zones (Auckland, Northland and the Chatham Islands) from the EPB system.
  • Introducing tiered risk mitigation requirements, making use of new engineering methodologies, based on location and building type.
  • Allowing building owners to apply for deadline extensions, provided they can meet key criteria.
  • Reducing barriers to seismic strengthening by removing the requirement for concurrent fire and accessibility upgrades.

The proposed changes mean that:

  • around 55% of EPBs (around 2,900 buildings) will be removed from the EPB system
  • around 1,440 EPBs will have more affordable remediation requirements
  • 840 EPBs will have no mandatory requirement for remedial work, and
  • only around 80 buildings will require a full retrofit due to the risk they pose.

It is expected the changes will deliver around $8.2 billion in savings for building owners, including government agencies, and will bring positive financial and economic outcomes for EPB owners across the country.

The changes will also support communities in regional New Zealand; by ensuring that only buildings with the highest risk are remediated.

The changes will be given effect through the Building (Earthquake-prone Building System Reform) Amendment Bill, which the Government aims to introduce as soon as possible.

Read the Government's announcement:
Earthquake-prone building system refocused(external link)- Beehive.govt.nz

Read the cabinet paper, cabinet minute, reports, and supporting analysis:
Proposed changes to the earthquake-prone building (EPB) system

MBIE media contact

Email: [email protected]

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MBIE - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment of New Zeland published this content on September 29, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 29, 2025 at 02:13 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]