Beyond regulation: Incentives to enable seismic strengthening in New Zealand

Overview

New Zealand has a significant number of buildings that pose seismic risk — and a regulatory system that only goes so far. The earthquake-prone building (EPB) system requires the highest-risk buildings to be remediated, but doesn't provide the support to make that happen. Many owners who are legally required to act face real barriers: high costs, difficulty accessing finance, complex ownership arrangements, and uncertainty about where to start. For buildings that fall outside the EPB threshold, but still carry risk, there are even fewer mechanisms to encourage owners to act voluntarily.

To explore what more could be done, we convened a workshop in Wellington in April 2026 with 35 participants from across the building sector — including building owners, lenders, insurers, engineers, local and central government officials, heritage specialists, and body corporate representatives. Working in mixed groups, participants examined a broad range of financial and non-financial mechanisms — from grants and low-interest loans to seismic rating systems and process navigation support. They considered how each would work in practice, who it would help, and what would be needed for it to be effective.

The findings are clear: no single mechanism is sufficient on its own. For owners caught by regulation, the priority is often removing the barriers that make compliance financially or practically unworkable. For those outside the regulatory threshold, the challenge is different — creating conditions where voluntary action makes sense. Across both groups, the research shows that mechanisms work best when they are tailored to the specific situation of different owner types, and when financial support, regulatory clarity, and practical guidance are working together rather than in isolation.