Five people died and nearly 100 others were made homeless after a fire tore through the multi-storey budget accommodation Loafers Lodge in Wellington last month. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
Wellington City Council has released the locations of 25 buildings in the capital that are being checked, following the fatal Loafers Lodge fire.
In the wake of the blaze last month which claimed five lives, Mayor Tory Whanau asked the council to urgently identify any similar buildings that were providing residential accommodation.
The council says the buildings identified include multi-level buildings, boarding houses, backpackers and some residential hotels and motels.
Sixteen audits have been completed and show no significant problems.
Of the 25 buildings identified, 21 had current Building Warrants of Fitness (BWoF), one has not historically had a warrant, and three buildings did not have current warrants, the council has issued the owners of these three building with "Notices to Fix".
The council is carrying out on-site audits of the 24 buildings and says it is proactively arranging a meeting with the owners of the building without a warrant of fitness.
In a statement, city council chief planning officer Liam Hodgetts said the buildings were not on the list because they had identified a safety risk for tenants and residents and any such suggestion would be misleading.
"We urge people to act respectfully and responsibly with this information. We are carrying out on-site audits of 24 of the buildings and we will also arrange a proactive meeting with owners of the building that has not historically had a BWoF to ensure they are aware of any obligations to maintain such essential safety features as clear exits."
The council had been pleased with the high levels of cooperation from the building owners, their agents and experts and one of the three buildings that did not have a current BWoF is now compliant, he said.
The buildings:
- AC International House, 140 Ghuznee Street
- Base Wellington, 22 Cambridge Terrace
- Boxhill Lodge (Aura Hotel), 49 Cuba Street (95 Manners Street)
- Capital Accommodation, 363 Willis Street
- Capital House, 21 Manchester Terrace
- Harbour City Motor Inn, 92-96 Webb Street
- Hayne House - (has not historically had a BWoF), 107 Coutts Street
- Hotel St George, 124 Willis Street
- Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers, 1 Bunny Street
- Hotel Willis Lodge, 318 Willis Street
- Laneway Backpackers, 107 Manners Street
- Lodge in the City, 152 Taranaki Street
- Nomads Capital Backpackers Wellington, 120 Wakefield Street
- People's Palace & Trekkers (Naumi Hotel), 203 Cuba Street
- Richard Pearse House, 219 Willis Street
- Rosemere Backpackers & Budget Lodge, 6 MacDonald Crescent
- Cambridge Hotel, 28 Cambridge Terrace
- The Carillon, 33 Thompson Street
- Marion Hostel, 13 Marion Street
- Setup on Dixon, 15 Dixon Street
- Setup on Manners, 57 Manners Street
- Trek Global Backpackers, 9 O'Reily Avenue
- Willis Wellington Hotel, 355 Willis Street
- YHA Wellington City, 292 Wakefield Street
- Worldwide Backpackers, 291 The Terrace