New Zealand buildings' cladding risk should be outlined in LIM reports - lawyer

In June 2017, 70 people died when the residential tower caught on fire.

Property lawyers say details of buildings' cladding risks should be clearly outlined in LIM reports.

It comes as, a year on from London's deadly Grenfell tower fire, the Auckland City Council’s revealed 25 buildings feature the same type of aluminium composite panels.

Despite previously saying they wouldn't, the council's also named those sites.

PWC, Spark, TVNZ, certain Auckland Hospital buildings, and Waitakere Stadium are among those found to have the cladding with a flammable polyethylene core.

"Some of the buildings on the list only have that type of cladding around entranceways and some small decorative features, in other places we see more substantive runs," says Ian McCormick, Auckland Council's general manager of building consents.

The Wellington City council has also revealed it has 18 buildings with the combustible polyethylene core, but won't yet name them.

"We first want to give the property owners reasonable time to respond to our letters and, where necessary, advise tenants before we make this information public," a council spokesperson said.

Both councils ensure the buildings identified are not dangerous, and occupants would be able to safely evacuate in the event of a fire.

Auckland Council says while it's reviewed 300 sites so far, there's still more to go.

A property lawyer told 1 NEWS he would expect the council to raise issues such as that with cladding, on the LIM report.

"Seeing as there are so many purchasers who go out and purchase properties without first consulting a lawyer, we think it's important it be clearly marked in the text of the LIM rather than hidden in the back," Convey Law's John Hall says.

"Often when you turn up at a property for an open home, you might have the LIM sitting there on the table.

"There's no guarantee that the attachments from the back of the LIM will also be sitting there on the table."

But Auckland Council says it won't be putting the details on the LIM at this stage, but it has included investigations on the respective property files.

"There're a lot of different types of products on buildings and if we started putting all of that on the LIM that would be a lot of information," Mr McCormick said.

The council says owners of affected buildings, in many cases, will not have to make any changes to their property, while in other cases may need to build the information into insurance premiums.

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