Decontamination work at Tauranga City Council's Willow Street headquarters has continued over the festive period – but some staff may have to wait until the end of January to be rehoused.

The work, carried out by council staff alongside a team from Downer, is in response to the discovery of toxic black mould in the building earlier this month.

Decontamination work at the council's HQ has continued over the Christmas and New Year period.

A number of staff have been relocated to various temporary locations while council finalise staff accommodation for the medium-term, which they estimate at six-to-nine months.

However, the exact medium-term is yet to be determined, and assessing the extent of the remedial work required to make the building weather-tight is expected to take six-to-eight weeks.

In the interim period, council have secured floor space in the old Westpac building situated at 2 Devonport Road and the Star building at 127 Durham Street.

The two sites combined will accommodate approximately 180 staff and the authority is also in negotiations for additional floor space within the Tauranga CBD.

It is expected staff will be settled into their medium-term workspaces by the end of January 2015.