Published 17/08/2021

New Zealand Institute of Valuers 
President
Adam Binns

Level Four Lockdown


It should come as no great surprise to any of us that we are living in uncertain times.

Like the rest of you I watched the announcement today and immediately thought about how a Level Four lockdown might affect my own operations and of course as President of NZIV how it will affect all of us.

The New Zealand Institute of Valuers has navigated these waters before and we shall do so again. Pending a change of policy, the advice for Valuers under a Level Four Lockdown from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is as follows:
From: EssentialEscalations <EssentialEscalations@mbie.govt.nz>
Sent: Monday, 20 April 2020 5:29 PM
To: NZIV President <president@nziv.org.nz>
Cc: responseessential <responseessential@mbie.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Registered Valuers - Essential Service? [UNCLASSIFIED]
 

Thank you for your email and for your patience as we work to respond to a large number of enquiries.
 
As you have pointed out, valuation services are not limited to just conveyancing but rather form part of the supply chain for a number of essential businesses and services. As such, valuation services may be carried out under the level four alert period where they are necessary for the continued operation of an essential business or service (i.e. for court proceedings, essential financial institutions etc).
 
It is difficult to be prescriptive about what valuation services will be essential and we ask that businesses use their good  judgement on the services they continue to offer. However, beyond consulting the guidance on the Essential Services website, you do not need to verify that the client (in your example the bank) has had the particular request approved as essential by MBIE or another government agency.
 
Even where essential, valuation services should be carried out remotely if this is possible, and non-essential valuations should be deferred until Level Three.
 
Please note that the Prime Minister has announced today that we will be transitioning to Level Three next week. Under Level Three, valuation services will be permitted for non-essential businesses so long as the relevant guidance is followed and health and safety protocols are in place: https://www.business.govt.nz/covid-19/workplace-operations-covid-19-alert-levels#e-21010
 
I encourage you to pass this advice on to your stakeholders. If you have any further questions please feel free to reply directly to this email.
 
Kind regards,
 
Essential Services COVID-19 Response Team
covid19.govt.nz
This is not a license to continue business as normal, and all professionals and employers should be following the advice and regular updates provided by the Ministry of Health 

As an organisation the New Zealand Institute of Valuers continues its efforts to deliver reliable, trustworthy and up to date information and we will pass that on as it comes to hand.

Keep safe. 

Warmest regards.

Adam Binns
President 
New Zealand Institute of Valuers