The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment says demolition work on the Copthorne hotel in Christchurch is on hold after an unexpected collapse.
Seven floors of the unoccupied building pancaked on Saturday, leaving two outer walls standing.
The ministry has issued a notice preventing any further demolition work.
It says a new engineering report must be completed before the demolition can resume.
At this stage, it is unclear what caused the collapse. Police say no-one was injured.
