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Ngā pānuitanga kua utaina ki runga i ngā whenua i muri iho i tētahi aituā māori

Placards issued to properties after a natural disaster

What a placard is

Placards are used to:

  • identify immediate safety risks to a property
  • inform members of the public whether their property is safe to be in.

Placards are either white, yellow or red.

Letter of confirmation for placard status

If your property has a white, yellow or red placard issued, you will receive an email from us with a letter attached.

This letter confirms your current placard status and your Request for Service (RFS) number.

You can use the placard status confirmation letter as an official document to provide evidence of the status of your property to any interested parties, including banks, insurance companies, and the police.

If your placard status changes, you will receive an updated status letter.

You should know

We are emailing letters of confirmation as quickly as we can.

If you haven't received a placard status confirmation letter via email or post yet it may be because:

  • we are still processing your letter, or
  • we need your up-to-date contact information.

Complete the contact information form to check if we have your correct contact details.

Placard colours explained

White – no access restrictions

White placards indicate a building has suffered light or no damage and can be used.

A white placard does not necessarily mean the building is safe, as there could be unobserved damage.

You may still want to get your own professional service checks done (building, engineering, electrical, plumbing, etc.).

Yellow - access restricted

Yellow placards indicate a building may have sustained moderate damage and access is restricted.

Types of yellow placards

Yellow placards can be Y1 or Y2:

  • Y1 placard means that the building has moderate damage or is at risk from an external hazard - the use of some parts of the building or land may be restricted.
  • Y2 placard means that the building has been moderately damaged or is at risk from external factors - short-term entry is allowed for assessing damage or for contractors to work on repairs.

Red – access prohibited

Red placards mean entry is prohibited because a building has sustained moderate or heavy damage. The building cannot be used as it poses a significant risk to health or life.

This could be from the building itself, from neighbouring buildings or hazards, or from ground failure.

Types of red placards

Red placards can be R1 or R2:

  • R1 placard means entry is prohibited due to risk from external factors such as adjacent buildings or from ground failure.
  • R2 placard means entry is prohibited due to significant damage.

Removing a placard from your home

Physical placards can be removed once there is evidence that damage to the property has been fixed or the property has been made safe again.

Key steps include:

  • After being issued with a placard, get qualified help to complete a detailed assessment, fix the property damage and ensure it is safe. For more information, see Get your own geotechnical report.
  • Once your property has been made safe, provide evidence to your case manager. Email rbacomms@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz if you don’t have your case manager’s details.
  • The required evidence depends on your property's situation. For example, it could be a geotechnical report showing there is no problem with slips or proof that a builder has rectified the problem.
  • We will review your documentation along with your placard status and decide whether we need to visit your property again. Visits from council inspectors are not always required as it varies from property to property.
  • Once the review is complete and the property is deemed safe, we will remove the physical placard.
  • You will receive an email notification and updated letter with a change of placard status, if appropriate.
  • The placard will remain on your property file but will be updated from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. This is the status that will appear on a future LIM.

Landlords and tenants

If you are a landlord, communicate with your tenants about the placard status of the property.

If you are a tenant who has not had contact from your landlord, and you are unable to reach them, email rbacomms@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz to let us know.

Placards on Land Information Memorandums (LIMs)

Placards will be recorded on property LIMs.

We disclose this information under Section 44A of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, future LIMs issued for the property will include the placard history.

The most up-to-date placard status will show as 'open'.

Once the property is repaired, the placard will show as ‘closed’.

White placards will show as ‘closed’ after 21 days.

If we confirm a placard has been issued in error, for example, if a placard is placed on the incorrect address, it will not be noted on any future LIMs.

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