1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: Staying on property. Property owners and engineering experts are welcoming 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: the shake up of the earthquake building rules that we're 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: announced by Chris Pink today. Government is limiting the kind 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: of buildings that these rules will be applied to. We 5 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: concrete buildings three stories or higher or buildings constructed with 6 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: unreinforced masonry. Leone Freeman is the chief executive of the 7 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: Property Institute and with us Highlyoni. 8 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 2: Hi, good afternoon. 9 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: You welcoming them too, Yes, very much. 10 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 3: So we see it as a common sense approach that 11 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 3: still continues to preserve life safety, which is the key objective. 12 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 3: But it doesn't leave our communities as ghost towns, which 13 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 3: is what's been happening with so many derelict buildings and 14 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 3: small towns in our biggest cities. 15 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 1: How quickly, realistically will some of those buildings open up again, 16 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: like Reading Cinema in Wellington or the Amora Hotel. 17 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's I mean this legislation, this announcement today is 18 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 3: just the first step in it. So it will go 19 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 3: through and the legislation will be developed, and I understand 20 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 3: that the bill will be passed before the next year's. 21 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 2: So it's still a bit of time to go. 22 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 3: But what it has done is, you know, it's signaling 23 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 3: to the industry what is going to happen, and so 24 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 3: I think that is a positive thing. When it comes 25 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 3: to specific buildings, you know, we still have to see 26 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 3: what the details going to to that sits under it, 27 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,400 Speaker 3: because they're talking about creating a new assessment tool and 28 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 3: we want to understand so the you know, for something 29 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 3: like the reading cinema cinema, we'd have to wait and 30 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 3: see the detail. 31 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: How many stories is that. 32 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 3: The reading cinema. I'm not not sure. I'm not a Wellingtonian, 33 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 3: but I look very high. 34 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,839 Speaker 2: I don't think so. It might be two or three years. 35 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: So then basically it's it's all go, isn't it. No? 36 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 3: You know, they've still got to do the assessment because 37 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 3: what they're trying to do with this is they want 38 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 3: to focus on the high risk buildings. And I can't 39 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 3: comment on the reading cinema to see whether it's high 40 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 3: risk or not, so I'm not making any comment on that. 41 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 3: But what it is doing is saying instead of having 42 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 3: a blanket rule which sort of covers everybody and everything, 43 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 3: they're saying we're going to be a lot more nuanced 44 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 3: and it's going to be, you know, whether an urban 45 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 3: center or a smaller town, whether it's three stories plus, 46 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,839 Speaker 3: which probably the reading cinema is, and if you've got 47 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,640 Speaker 3: an unreinforced masonry building. So it's focused on really trying 48 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 3: to solve the problems that create risk for people in 49 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 3: buildings rather than a blanket approach. 50 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 1: What do you think the impact on insurance will be? 51 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good question. 52 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 3: Again, the more certainty we can provide in the space, 53 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 3: the better for everyone involved, because because the rules have 54 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 3: kept changing and people, you know, you can have different 55 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 3: engineers go to a building and somebody says, oh, it's 56 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 3: fifty percent of the NBS or New Building standard and 57 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 3: someone else says it's seventy percent, And then an owner 58 00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 3: might upgrade a building, but then in a few years 59 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 3: after it they have to upgrade again. It's just created 60 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 3: a whole lot of uncertainty and people have just stopped 61 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 3: and said, well, we you know, and we've seen a 62 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 3: lot more buildings become derelict, empty and not being updated. 63 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 3: So I think once we get through this, then you know, 64 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 3: the insurance premiums I think, you know, because they are 65 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 3: targeted at what they perceive as risk and to me, 66 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 3: this is part of that whole risk assessment. 67 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 2: Leoni. 68 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: By the way, have you caught up on this business 69 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,639 Speaker 1: with the Dixon Street flats in Wellington? 70 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 2: No, I can't say I have. 71 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: I'll go and read about it. It'll fascinate you. Thank you 72 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: for your time. I really appreciated. Leoni Freeman, Chief Executive 73 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: Property Institute. 74 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 3: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to 75 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 3: news talks they'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 76 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 3: the podcast on iHeartRadio.