Seven buildings in the central Canterbury district of Selwyn have been closed and 30 more are undergoing assessments due to fears they could collapse in an earthquake.
Selwyn District Council is assessing whether buildings in its area meet at least 33% of the current building code, considered the minimum for earthquake resilience.
Council chief executive Paul Davey says 37 buildings have so far been found be be below that level.
Mr Davy says seven are council buildings, and have been immediately closed as a precautionary measure until further assessments are done.
The other 30 can stay in use but owners must engage an engineer for an independent assessment.
The buildings are at Burnham, Darfield, Doyleston, Dunsandel, Glentunnel, Greempark, Hororata, Leeston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, Sheffield, Southbridge, Springston and Tai Tapu.
A list of all 37 buildings is available at www.selwyn.govt.nz.
