Police carried out a search at a house in Grimseys Rd, in the suburb of Redwood, about 4pm on Tuesday and located a "suspicious object".
Residents who live in the street told RNZ police spent about eight hours at the scene.
Cordons were lifted about 7pm after police cleared the device of any danger.
A man was arrested at the scene and was scheduled to appear in the Christchurch District Court today on a charge of unlawful possession of an improvised explosive device.
A 38-year-old woman was summonsed to appear at a later date on the same charge.
"We understand events like these can be distressing," a police spokesperson said.
"However, police are treating this as an isolated incident and do not believe there is any ongoing threat to the community."
