Red placard properties

The recovery from the August severe weather event continues, and Nelson City Council (NCC) has been working hard to help people get back into their homes as soon as it is safe to do so.

Council’s main roles are to undertake building inspections to change placard colours (if it is safe to do so) and to ensure council services such as pipes and roads are functional. 

If your property has a red placard:

This means your property continues to pose a risk to life or safety and is unsafe to occupy.

The ongoing restrictions on your property relate to land instability and/or structural damage to buildings.

In accordance with the New Zealand Building Act 2004, to change the placard on your property you may need to have work done, followed by assessments that clear the property of any ongoing life safety concerns.

To begin with, you will need to engage relevant experts for a detailed assessment that identifies the risks to the building. This will also describe what remedial actions are possible to be completed in order to recommend a change in placard status.

The detailed assessment will likely take the form of:

• Site inspection by suitably qualified professional (geotechnical/structural)
• Letter or report identifying the risks and remedial solutions (if required)

If the placard status relates to structural damage to buildings, failure of a retaining structure, and/or damage to piped services on your land, these will need to be repaired to change the placard status. These repairs may require a resource and/or building consent.

The detailed assessment will inform one of the following courses of action:

1. Whether to apply for building/resource consent, or discretionary exemption from the requirement for building consent, for remedial works required in order to request a placard change.
2. Whether to carry out other remedial works, for which consent is not required, that are required in order to request a placard change.

Once any required works are completed, NCC will require a geotechnical/structural professional to provide sufficient evidence to allow NCC to reassess your placard. Please send these documents to the NCC Building Unit for assessment.

This process may take a few days, so please be patient. Please contact the NCC Building team via flood2022@ncc.govt.nz for specific information on your property, or to provide/discuss information and assessments.

Insurance
If you have not made a claim with your insurer yet, you should do so as soon as possible. When they assess your claim, your insurer may need to engage other experts (e.g. engineers) to assess and report on the natural disaster damage to your property. These reports are used for the purpose of settling your insurance claim only. They do not report on the risk to life or safety, which is the reason for the placard on your property. You may need to engage your own experts (e.g. engineers) to obtain information and/or take the necessary steps to make your home safe again so that the Council can consider changing your placard status.

If insurance is not an option, then you will need to make your own arrangements. Please note that the Mayoral Relief Fund may be an option for some short-term financial support, and that the Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) can help with accommodation. More information about available support is listed below.

Mayoral Relief Fund
We want this money to get into the Nelson Tasman community as soon as possible, and the fund closes on 30 November 2022 (Note: closing date will be reviewed two weeks before). If you, or a business you own, have been financially impacted by the weather event please consider making an application to the Nelson Tasman Mayoral Relief Fund. It is important for this money to get into the community where it is needed so if you think you qualify for assistance make an application as soon as you can.

Financial difficulty may include things like:

• Difficulty paying for your essential living costs (such as food, medication, accommodation);
• Difficulty paying for additional costs that may not be paid for by your insurer (for example clean-up, disposal of goods).

And the fund is set up to cover things such as:

• Essential items/essentials of daily life (e.g. food, accommodation, utilities) not covered by insurance or other funds (such as WINZ, EQC);
• Extra financial burden (including significant loss of income), costs due to the August 2022 flood event not covered by insurance or other funds; and
• Family or personal crises, support for which is not covered by insurance, another agency, or fund (such as MSD).

Applications can be made at the Customer Service Centre (110 Trafalgar Street) or online at https://shape.nelson.govt.nz/mayor-relief-fund

Temporary Accommodation Service
If you are needing temporary accommodation, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) is supporting people to find temporary accommodation while their home is inaccessible or being repaired/rebuilt. To register for TAS help: tas.mbie.govt.nz/nelson-tasman-marlborough-flooding or call 0508 754 163.

It's ok to be not ok
It's normal to be feeling really overwhelmed right now. Anxiety is very common during and after an emergency event such as flooding and evacuations. This is a normal response to a stressful situation. Talking to people and helping others can be both therapeutic and useful.

If you need further support for yourself or for others: 

• Call your GP, after-hours GP practice or Healthline on 0800 611 116 (the first three flood-related GP visits are free, and your GP can help refer you on to other free services)
• Free-call or text 1737 to talk to a trained counsellor
• In an emergency, call 111

Where possible, try to get as much sleep as you can so you are rested to take on the challenges of the day. Finding ways to switch off from worrying and overthinking before you go to bed will help e.g., breathing exercises, reading a book, meditation.

Managing complexities on top of day-to-day life can be overwhelming. Try and focus on what you can control and take time out each day to do something you enjoy.

Children will also find this time unsettling as they will be missing their home, toys and familiar surroundings. It is a good idea to explain what is going on to them, and to offer regular reassurance. There are some useful tips here on how to do just that: nmdhb.govt.nz/home/weather-event-of-august-2022 – Scroll down to supporting tamariki mental wellbeing.

Māori community / iwi support
Please don’t be whakamā to ask for help. For hauora support, call Te Tauihu Māori health provider Te Piki Oranga on 0800 ORANGA (0800 672 642).

For general support, please call Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu Trust on 0800 514 358 or: Whakatū Te Korowai Manaakitanga Trust on 03 547 5958. 

You can also call the Whānau Ora navigators at your local marae or iwi office.

Pasifika support services
Ministry of Pacific Peoples – Christchurch Regional Office
Phone: 03 366 7202 Email: southern@mpp.govt.nz
Nelson Tasman Pasifika community trust
Email: info@nelsonpasifika.org.nz

If you have any other questions, then please contact our Customer Service Centre on Customer.Service@ncc.govt.nz or call 03 546 0200.