Notices (Placards)

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About the notices

Following the expiry of Civil Defence placards on 12 July 2011 new notices were issued for some buildings by CERA and Christchurch City Council.

CERA issued notices on commercial buildings outside the CBD rebuild zone to replace red and yellow placards posted by the Civil Defence National Controller during the national emergency.

See our Frequently asked questions: commercial buildings outside the CBD rebuild zone for more information.

Christchurch City Council issued notices to buildings in the hill suburbs identified as being in areas where there is a rock fall or landslide hazard.

See our Frequently asked questions: residential properties for more information.

Since 12 July 2011, CERA has identified other buildings where there are concerns about the safety of the building. As these buildings are identified they have been issued with a red or yellow notice. In other cases, mainly due to remedial action on the building, the notice has been removed or changed.

CERA notices and access prohibition list

CERA notices replace the red and yellow placards posted by the National Controller during the national emergency which expired on 12 July 2011. Further buildings have also been identified by CERA engineers as having a safety risk.

Under section 45 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 the chief executive of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority has prohibited access to buildings or areas identified as red, and restricted access to buildings or areas identified as yellow (see list below).

If a building is listed as red, access is prohibited.

If a building is listed as yellow, access is only permitted for emergency purposes, damage assessment, making safe or demolition.

Port Hills

Access to areas of the Port Hills may be restricted for public safety reasons, including building safety and the risk posed by geotechnical hazards.

Section 45 notices are posted by CERA. Under section 45 of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 the chief executive of CERA may “restrict or prohibit access by any person or specified class of persons to any specified area, or to any specified building”.

The maps below specify the areas that have been restricted or prohibited under section 45:

Section 124 notices are posted by the Christchurch City Council under the Building Act 2004 and restrict access to a structure.

Some properties may be covered by both notices - a section 124 notice for the structure, and a section 45 notice for the land.

Frequently asked questions

Please read the FAQs below to find out more including how a building can be removed from the list, and what to do if you consider there is an error.

Expiry of Civil Defence placards

As part of the response to the national emergencies following the Christchurch earthquakes, Civil Defence placed placards on residential and commercial buildings. The placards indicated that a basic safety assessment had been carried out and, as a result, structures were classified as either red, yellow or green.

The Civil Defence placards expired on 12 July 2011, however, identified dangers may still be present. You are advised to not reoccupy buildings that have been red placarded, to continue to follow yellow placard restrictions, and not to remove Civil Defence placards until you have arranged for a structural assessment of the building and any required work is completed.