Placard colours explained
White – no access restrictions
White placards indicate a building has suffered light or no damage and can be used.
A white placard does not necessarily mean the building is safe, as there could be unobserved damage.
You may still want to get your own professional service checks done (building, engineering, electrical, plumbing, etc.).
Yellow - access restricted
Yellow placards indicate a building may have sustained moderate damage and access is restricted.
Types of yellow placards
Yellow placards can be Y1 or Y2:
- Y1 placard means that the building has moderate damage or is at risk from an external hazard - the use of some parts of the building or land may be restricted.
- Y2 placard means that the building has been moderately damaged or is at risk from external factors - short-term entry is allowed for assessing damage or for contractors to work on repairs.
Red – access prohibited
Red placards mean entry is prohibited because a building has sustained moderate or heavy damage. The building cannot be used as it poses a significant risk to health or life.
This could be from the building itself, from neighbouring buildings or hazards, or from ground failure.
Types of red placards
Red placards can be R1 or R2:
- R1 placard means entry is prohibited due to risk from external factors such as adjacent buildings or from ground failure.
- R2 placard means entry is prohibited due to significant damage.
Removing a placard from your home
Physical placards can be removed once there is evidence that damage to the property has been fixed or the property has been made safe again.
Key steps include:
- After being issued with a placard, get qualified help to complete a detailed assessment, fix the property damage and ensure it is safe. For more information, see Get your own geotechnical report.
- Once your property has been made safe, provide evidence to your case manager. Email rbacomms@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz if you don’t have your case manager’s details.
- The required evidence depends on your property's situation. For example, it could be a geotechnical report showing there is no problem with slips or proof that a builder has rectified the problem.
- We will review your documentation along with your placard status and decide whether we need to visit your property again. Visits from council inspectors are not always required as it varies from property to property.
- Once the review is complete and the property is deemed safe, we will remove the physical placard.
- You will receive an email notification and updated letter with a change of placard status, if appropriate.
- The placard will remain on your property file but will be updated from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. This is the status that will appear on a future LIM.
Landlords and tenants
If you are a landlord, communicate with your tenants about the placard status of the property.
If you are a tenant who has not had contact from your landlord, and you are unable to reach them, email
rbacomms@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz to let us know.
Placards on Land Information Memorandums (LIMs)
Placards will be recorded on property LIMs.
We disclose this information under
Section 44A of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, future LIMs issued for the property will include the placard history.
The most up-to-date placard status will show as 'open'.
Once the property is repaired, the placard will show as ‘closed’.
White placards will show as ‘closed’ after 21 days.
If we confirm a placard has been issued in error, for example, if a placard is placed on the incorrect address, it will not be noted on any future LIMs.
