A Government audit prompted by the fatal Loafers Lodge fire has identified 70 similar multi-storey boarding houses across the country with no sprinklers.
Officials will start inspecting the buildings next month, with their findings expected to inform regulatory changes.
In the meantime, Housing Minister Megan Woods is making a number of immediate changes, including the creation of new, consistent rules for inspectors who issue warrants of fitness for buildings.
In the wake of the fatal blaze, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins asked Woods to look into building regulations for high-density accommodation and whether they were fit for purpose.
Woods and the chief executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment subsequently wrote to all the country’s councils and mayors, requesting information on boarding houses in their area.
Housing Minister Megan Woods plans to introduce a new bill to regulate property managers next year. Photo / Mark Mitchell, File
Through that process, 70 buildings similar to Loafers Lodge were identified. All the buildings have at least three storeys and no sprinklers.
The boarding houses are spread across 13 areas, but the majority are in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown Lakes.
Woods told RNZ if those buildings were not managed correctly, it “could be a problem”.
“It doesn’t mean that they are, it just means that they’re buildings that are of concern.”
Starting in August, Tenancy Services’ tenancy compliance team and councils will inspect the 70 buildings - a process expected to take two months.
“We want to ensure that we’re having those inspections that go through and actually physically eyeball these buildings and understand exactly what risks are out there,” Woods told RNZ.
The charred exterior of Loafers Lodge following the blaze. Photo / Hamish Cardwell, RNZ, File
The reports from those inspections, as well as information from ongoing Fire and Emergency and police investigations into the Loafers Lodge fire, would inform changes to the health and safety section of the building regulatory framework, she said.
“There are clearly some other policy decisions and some other things we might need to look at that we really do need to understand fully exactly what happened [first].”
Currently, each council enforces its own rules, creating inconsistencies across the country, Woods told RNZ.
The new standards, she said, would include competency requirements, a code of ethics, fit and proper persons tests and conflicts of interest declarations.
Emergency services formed a guard of honour along a footpath near the hostel as they awaited the first body to be removed from Loafers Lodge. Photo / George Heard, File
“For example, you’re going to want to know if you’ve got an independently qualified person who’s also an owner of a whole lot of lodges.”
Councils have asked the Government to create a national register of independent inspectors to replace the 10 existing separate lists.
But Woods told RNZ the Government was focused, for now, on the new set of rules for inspectors.
Lastly, the Government is looking to remind those operating boarding houses of their obligations, Woods said, after some councils flagged concerns not every operator understands them.
“Making sure that there’s clear… fire exits, there’s nothing blocking the ways.
“Given what we’ve just experienced and the tragic loss of life, it’s on us to make sure that we’re taking this opportunity to make sure that everybody understands what their obligations are.”
Officials were working on a form that explains the obligations for those operating boarding houses, Woods said.
“I’d probably think one of those critical opportunities is probably burning some boot leather and getting out and door knocking and… speaking to a lot of our operators.”
