Second-hand asbestos contamination leaves Tauranga property permanently listed as ‘hazardous’
A Greerton home has been permanently registered as “hazardous” after asbestos spread from a neighbouring property with 10 years of recorded and unremediated friable asbestos.
The house at 34 Kiteroa St was significantly damaged by a fire 16 years ago, and friable asbestos was first identified there in 2016.
Tauranga City Council bought the property for $500,000 this year and demolished it – but the problems have not ended for its neighbour at 32 Kiteroa St.
The asbestos was found in 2016, with the council told the surrounding ground was likely to be contaminated. An asbestos expert confirmed neighbouring properties were likely affected in 2017.
This was confirmed in November last year after the council tested the soil.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council was informed of the contamination this year and registered both properties on the Ministry for the Environment’s hazardous activities and industries list (HAIL).
’Grossly unfair’
The owner of 32 Kiteroa St, who the Bay of Plenty Times agreed not to name, said she felt “punished” when she was notified about her property’s registration.
She bought her property in 2017, unaware the soil might be contaminated with asbestos.
The regional council sent her a letter in August, notifying her of the HAIL site registration.
A council spokesperson said the classification was due to hazardous substances migrating from 34 Kiteroa St in sufficient quantity to pose a health or environmental risk.
The Bay of Plenty Times asked whether the property’s HAIL registration could be downgraded, removed or amended.
The spokesperson said the council would not consider changing the classification unless further information was provided. The site’s history would remain on the regional council’s land use register.
Tauranga City Council has said the HAIL registration will be noted on the property file and available to future buyers who order a LIM.
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times, the owner said her family should have been able to find out about the potential contamination before they bought the property.
“I had a right, just as the next owner of my property would have a right, to know of any dangers or risks to themselves.”
She said her family’s full financial costs had not yet been realised.
“It’s the future cost, because the word asbestos is alarming to folks. The stigma on the land won’t be realised until we go to sell.
“It’s grossly unfair for our family to now have to bear the burden.”
Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell has been advocating for the neighbour.
He said the situation was unjust.
“[The owner] and her family have purchased a property where, if they had the full information that the council had, which wasn’t on the council LIM, then they would have made a different decision.”
Asbestos identified 10 years ago
Documents released by Tauranga City Council under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) revealed the council first initiated asbestos assessments at the fire-damaged house in 2016 after community members raised concerns.
A structural engineer confirmed the presence of asbestos in roof soffits on December 13.
A week later, the council was informed the soffit was “friable and a health risk, and that surrounding ground was likely to be contaminated and should be tested”.
A dangerous building notice served in March 2017 required the owner to remove and remediate the asbestos.
That same year, an asbestos specialist found adjacent properties were likely to be contaminated.
Council site visits in 2018 confirmed the property’s condition was “unchanged”, and asbestos remained present on-site in 2019.
No further inspections, records or actions related to 34 Kiteroa St occurred from August 2019 until July 2025.
The next asbestos-related record on council files was a WorkSafe complaint in October 2025.
Subsequent council assessments found the property owner had removed “some”, but not all, soffit linings in 2017.
The council said in 2025 that it had “no clear evidence” risks from 34 Kiteroa St were at a level to materially affect 32 Kiteroa St. Therefore, risks would not be included in a property file or LIM for 32 Kiteroa St.
In November 2025, the council and police inspected 34 Kiteroa St and found visible friable asbestos on soffits.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council was not informed of asbestos contamination at 34 Kiteroa St or next door until February this year, prompting the HAIL registrations.
Damage history at 34 Kiteroa St
Firefighters described 34 Kiteroa St as uninhabitable after the 2010 fire.
Tauranga City Council issued dangerous and insanitary building notices, and a notice to fix various building issues, to the property’s owner between 2015 and 2017.
Building notices revealed “charred” structural framing, “buckled” roof cladding, smoke damage and broken windows.
An assessment found loose roofing and that exposed asbestos fibres could be “dispersed through the air”.
These notices were renewed this year, revealing many of the same issues persisted despite partial remediation work.
The council bought the property on June 22 to resolve the building issues.
Demolition and asbestos removal began a week later – a decade after asbestos was first identified.
The council previously acknowledged the community had been affected by the property for many years.
It defended its staged response to the issues over a decade and said public safety was paramount throughout.
Tauranga City Council referred new Bay of Plenty Times questions about the case to the LGOIMA process.
These include why HAIL registrations were not pursued when asbestos contamination was first identified, why the asbestos was not remediated until a decade later, and how the council assessed the risk to other properties identified in a 2017 report.
Bijou Johnson is a journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She grew up in Tauranga and joined NZME in 2025 after studying communications at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.