Southern Catchments and the Evolution of New Zealand's Environmental Law

Abstract

Our research team (the authors of this paper and Professor Jacinta Ruru) based at the School of Law, University of Canterbury and the Faculty of Law, University of Otago has been granted funding from the Building Research Levy through the New Zealand Building Research Association New Zealand (BRANZ) and the New Zealand Law Foundation to investigate the problems that have occurred with repairs, renovation, restoration, demolition or replacement of multi-dwelling units on a single title (for example, unit titles, cross leases, retirement villages and papakainga housing, or units or buildings where mixed commercial or industrial use is combined with residential use). Although the most obvious examples of events that trigger a need for such repair or restoration have been natural disasters (for example, the Christchurch earthquakes) and buildings that have been affected by New Zealand’s “leaky home” syndrome, problems may also be encountered on a much smaller scale with fires or other triggering events. This paper explains our methodology and reveals some of our early findings.