People are barred from access to half of Christchurch's 1000 heritage buildings after assessments by Civil Defence staff.
Civil Defence national controller John Hamilton said today 50 percent of the top level heritage building had been issued with red stickers.
A red sticker means a building is not safe to be accessed and will need to be assessed again by an engineer who will determine if it needs to be demolished.
Mr Hamilton said nearly 56,000 properties in the city had been assessed, with 45 percent of the 3000 in the central business district receiving either red or yellow stickers.
A yellow sticker means the building can be entered for short periods of time to take essential or personal items. The building will also need to be checked by an engineer.
More than 21,000 residential properties have been inspected. About 1350 have been given red stickers.
