Councils around the country have been given the job of identifying buildings that don't meet that standard, and telling owners to upgrade them. But many have been given decades to do the work.
Jones says landlords will be wise to hold off on doing the work for now.
The commission of inquiry looking at the Canterbury earthquake is yet to produce its findings and recommendations, and he suspects that when it does it could prompt more changes to the building code.
Owners who have brought their buildings up to the minimum standard required may find they have to do the work again. "Landlords undertaking strengthening work in the short term may wish to go beyond meeting current minimum strengthening standards, as I believe the building standards will be increased once the review of current standards has been completed," says Jones.
Waiting is the best option, he says, unless an anchor tenant such as a Government department has a lease coming up for review and strengthening work is a condition of it continuing.
Jones says the market also appears to be demanding more strengthening than the law requires.
Many banks are requiring buildings to be up to 80 per cent of the modern standard if they are to occupy them. He says owners may find it hard to sell or let buildings that are perceived to be unsafe.
"The return on investment isn't going to take long when you take into account time when a building is off the market without tenants."
He says once work is started, strengthening beyond the minimum is not much more expensive. He would not put a dollar figure on the extra investment, saying it varied depending on a building's size and construction. Unreinforced masonry buildings are the most expensive to upgrade.
"If you're upgrading a steel frame or concrete frame, the difference between 40 per cent and 70 per cent is not significant compared to all the other costs."
But the Wellington City Council's seismic activity manager, Steve Cody, did not agree with the call to wait.
His council has a deadline of 2014 to complete its round of building assessments, and owners have up to 20 years to do the work.
He says he encourages people to maximise the strength of their buildings and says if people can afford to do it immediately, they should.
He says the projected building boom in Christchurch could make it harder to find people to take on the work in future.
Morgan Wilson, owner of Zippy Central Cafe in Rotorua, was surprised by the amount of work needed to strengthen the building that housed his business. He says his landlord had been left out of pocket by the work, which took longer than expected. Upstairs was a Government department which required a higher seismic standard for its premises.
The work forced Zippy out of business for three months.
"The place was absolutely stripped. The worst thing is everyone loses, the tenant and the landlord."
