A heritage building owner and its director have been fined a total of $135,000 after failing to comply with an Auckland Council Dangerous Building Notice requiring urgent work to address risks posed by the deteriorating former Fitzroy Hotel building at 75-77 Wakefield St, in Auckland’s city centre.
The Auckland District Court found Terry Huang and The Fitzroy Hotel Auckland Ltd guilty of failing to comply with a Dangerous Building Notice issued in October 2023 under the Building Act 2004, after engineering assessments identified significant cracking, subsidence and the risk of falling masonry.
At a sentencing hearing yesterday, the court declined an application by Mr Huang for a further adjournment. Judge E P Paul imposed fines of $45,000 on Mr Huang and $90,000 on The Fitzroy Hotel Auckland Ltd, the latter making it the largest reported Building Act 2004 fine imposed on a single entity.
In sentencing, Judge Paul cited the public safety risk created by the offending, the duration of the non-compliance and the fact that no remediation work had been undertaken to date. He also noted it was important that the fines imposed were not seen as a mere cost of doing business.
The court heard the council repeatedly sought compliance from the defendants and provided opportunities for them to undertake remedial works. The Dangerous Building Notice required all necessary work to be completed by 10 November 2023. However, no physical work has been carried out on the building to date.
Auckland Council had been investigating concerns about the Category A heritage building since 2020, following complaints about cracks appearing in the façade. Structural engineers from Tonkin + Taylor carried out multiple inspections and concluded the building’s condition had progressively deteriorated.
Judge Paul accepted expert evidence that the building was dangerous and posed an ongoing risk to public safety and rejected arguments that the notice was unclear or unreasonable.
In finding Mr Huang personally liable as a director, Judge Paul said he had not taken all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the offending.
“The stark reality is no works or actions were ever undertaken to reduce or remove the danger,” the judge said.
Auckland Council Regulatory and Safety Committee Chair, Councillor Josephine Bartley said the sentence should leave building owners with no doubt about their responsibilities.
“This was not a case where the risks were unknown or the expectations unclear. The building was identified as dangerous, a notice was issued, and the owners were given multiple opportunities over an extended period to take action. They chose not to.
“There are no excuses when public safety is at stake. Owning a heritage building comes with responsibilities, and those responsibilities don’t disappear because the work is difficult, expensive or inconvenient.
“Aucklanders have a right to expect that buildings in our city centre are safe. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that ignoring Dangerous Building Notices and leaving risks unaddressed will have consequences.”
Auckland Council Team Leader Investigations, Paul Cowling said the outcome reflected the seriousness of failing to address known safety risks.
“This building was identified as dangerous and remained that way because the required work simply wasn’t done. Council officers spent years engaging with the owners, providing opportunities to comply and seeking a resolution without prosecution.
“Dangerous Building Notices are not optional and they are not open-ended. If a building poses a risk to the public, owners must act. When they don’t, Auckland Council will not hesitate to take enforcement action.”
Mr Cowling said the conviction and substantial fines highlight the importance of proactive building maintenance and timely action when structural concerns are identified.
“Our role is to protect the public. Building owners who ignore serious safety risks and fail to meet their legal obligations should expect to be held accountable.”
