Council Encouraging Landlords To Tidy Up Unsightly Buildings

The Invercargill City Council is being proactive about helping landlords tidy up neglected commercial buildings in the city centre.

A report by council heritage and urban design planner Shannon Baxter was presented to councillors yesterday, with an aim to address the issue and give options which could help owners keep maintenance up to date.

She said concerns had been raised within the community regarding untidy neglected commercial buildings in the city centre.

“It seems to detract from recent city centre redevelopment work, community pride and the external perception of Invercargill.”

Enabling rather than enforcing was the more suggested approach, and most commercial building owners in the city were motivated to keep them tidy to be able to attract tenants.

Council has looked into whether regulatory enforcement could be used to enforce maintenance for such things as repairing broken windows, removal of boarding and accumulated rubbish to keep vermin away, as well as old peeling paint and tagging.

At present there is no enforcement mechanism under both the RMA and the Building Act in regard to untidy/neglected buildings – only recognised heritage buildings.

Councillors were not keen to impose ratepayers with the burden of a $200,000 incentive fund to help landlords, and decided to take the enabling approach instead.

Mayor Nobby Clark said of the 42 buildings within the CBD that were identified, there wouldn’t be any more than 20 on Dee and Tay Street that needed attention.

Some of these were also council owned, and there was discussion around what happened in Dunedin when the council tried to impose a bylaw requiring landlords to comply, and it fell over.