26 Sep 2014

Rogue building owners may be named

8:00 pm on 26 September 2014

The Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) says it would support naming two building owners who have refused to have their potentially dangerous buildings assessed - as a last resort.

Relief workers sift through the wreckage of the CTV building following the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch.

Relief workers sift through the wreckage of the CTV building following the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch. Photo: AFP

The owners have yet to respond to letters from Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith asking them to comply with a nationwide audit of 348 buildings with similar design flaws to the CTV building, which collapsed in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

The institution's interim chief executive, Kieran Devine, said if that situation continued, the Government would have to act.

"Clearly it's important that these buildings be assessed and a proper risk analysis taken, because it's a matter of public safety. My guess is that the Minister is limited to effectively naming those people. There are not too many other options he's got in the short-term. He's going to have to make that quite hard call."

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