Lyttelton St property must be fixed before tenants return – Council

The Christchurch City Council has told the owner of a property in Lyttelton Street that his tenants cannot reoccupy the boarding house until it has been brought back up to a standard that complies with fire safety rules.

The property was partly damaged by fire on Tuesday evening (5 November).

Council building control manager John Buchan says that about four years ago the property had a new set of fire alarms installed which had been designed and signed off by a registered fire engineer.

“We’ve told him they’ll have to be put back in good working order before people can go back in again,” Mr Buchan says.

The current law puts the onus on building owners to supply councils with Warrants of Fitness for properties and for ensuring that maintenance work is being done to keep them up to standard. The Council had received from the owner a current Warrant of Fitness for the Lyttelton Street property.

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