Dear Rachael,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). Your request has been
forwarded to the appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will
provide a response or update within 20 working days of the date we
received your request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Katie McFadden

Information Advisor
Office of the Chief Executive

Christchurch City Council
Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street, Christchurch
PO Box 73016, Christchurch, 8154

Please consider the environment before printing this email

 

 

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Dear Rachael,

 

Thank you for your email, received on 8 March. You requested the following
information, under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings
Act 1987 (LGOIMA):

 

“Please provide all internal memorandum/policies/letters of advice
regarding your consenting of work to Type B and Type C foundations, and
what constitutes a repair or triggers a rebuild.”

 

Response

After careful consideration the Council has decided to refuse your request
for information under section 17(f) of the LGOIMA – the information
requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or
research. This is because gathering all communications and related
material on this would unreasonably impact on staff time, as this involves
a large amount of information.

 

However, it might prove helpful if we provide an explanation of the
Council’s role in consenting work on residential foundations. The Council
does not decide what work is to be carried out; rather it is the insurance
policy or the owners’ decision that determines whether any work is to be
carried out, and the extent of that work. This is because the Building Act
does not require work to be undertaken on a house unless it is dangerous
or unsanitary, and where damage to the foundations is being repaired, it
is highly unlikely that the house is ‘dangerous’ under the Building Act.
Therefore, the Act does not provide an ability for Council to decide on
what work is to be undertaken.

 

For example, in considering filling a crack in a foundation, someone may
choose to simply fill that crack with a flexible sealant. This would not
remedy any structural issues with the foundation, and do nothing other
than cosmetically repair it, but as the house is not dangerous and will be
no worse off after the work than before it, the Building Act would allow
such a remedy if the sealant was sufficiently durable.

 

What the Council does consider is whether the actual work being undertaken
complies with the Building Code. We also need to assess whether the rest
of the building will comply with the Building Code to the same extent as
before the work is carried out (note this is different from before the
damage occurred, for example pre-earthquake). In addition, where an
application for building approval is received we do check that what is
proposed will comply in the way that the applicant says it will, before
consent is given. This still leaves initial decision making with the
applicant.

 

Advice is provided on the demarcation between repair and replacement in
the Guidance Documents prepared by the Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment. This guidance was prepared in order to provide reasonable
solutions to a wide range of parties, and goes beyond what a Council could
require. This guidance is available on the Ministry's website at
[1]https://www.building.govt.nz/building-co....

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[2][email address], by fax to (04) 471 2254, or by post to
The Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Katie McFadden

Information Advisor
Office of the Chief Executive

Christchurch City Council
Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street, Christchurch
PO Box 73016, Christchurch, 8154

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From: Official Information
Sent: Thursday, 8 March 2018 10:52 a.m.
To: 'Rachael Harris' <[FOI #7401 email]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Repair v rebuild internal
documents

 

Dear Rachael,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). Your request has been
forwarded to the appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will
provide a response or update within 20 working days of the date we
received your request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Katie McFadden

Information Advisor
Office of the Chief Executive

Christchurch City Council
Civic Offices, 53 Hereford Street, Christchurch
PO Box 73016, Christchurch, 8154

Please consider the environment before printing this email

 

 

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