This paper addresses the legal frameworks and rules about what local and regional councils in New Zealand can and cannot do to adapt to the coastal hazards associated with sea-level rise and climate change. The focus is on what councils might be liable for in respect of housing affected by coastal hazards. It is part of a Deep South National Science Challenge program on Impacts and Implications for residential housing that is now – and in the future will increasingly be – subject to such coastal hazards. Its focus is limited to adaptation measures for residential housing; it does not address infrastructure nor commercial building or activities.