BEN HEATHER

Some Christchurch red-zone homeowners say they will remain on their earthquake-hit properties despite the possibility of a confrontation with the Government.

A Waimakariri District Council survey of hundreds of red-zone homeowners shows between 5 and 10 per cent intend to reject the Government’s offers to buy their property.

There are about 1000 red-zone properties in the Waimakariri District and 5000 in Christchurch that the Government has deemed too badly damaged to repair economically.

The Government has offered to buy these properties, or just the land, requiring residents to vacate them by April 2013.

If people decline either offer, the Government has warned that councils will not maintain services, insurers will not offer cover and the land could be compulsorily acquired with minimal compensation.

However, people who decline the Government’s offer will still get paid by private insurers and the Earthquake Commission (EQC) for damage to their homes. The EQC will also still be obliged to pay for land damage, although in most cases this will be less than the Government’s offer.

Waimakariri District’s mayor, David Ayers, said the council needed to prepare for people remaining in the red zone beyond the Government’s deadline.

“We are trying to plan for a variety of scenarios,” he said.

“We don’t know what the uptake is going to be, but they [the Government's options] are offers. They are not compulsory.”

Ayers said some properties on the edge of the red zone could retain services after April 2013, but that the council would struggle to maintain the infrastructure without insurance cover.

“Beyond that deadline, we don’t really know,” he said.

The Press spoke to several red-zone homeowners who said they would not accept the Government’s offer but asked not to be named out of fear they would become targets for government land acquisition.

One Kairaki Beach resident, whose house was written off after the February 22 quake, said he would use the insurance money and EQC payout to buy elsewhere.

This would allow him to retain his bare section as a long-term asset and holiday spot for his family.

“There is no reason we can’t keep the land and go camping on it,” he said.

Another red-zone homeowner said his house, built with deep-pile foundations, was undamaged and still had sewerage, water and power. There was no reason to leave, he said.

“They have the power to compulsorily acquire land, but they have to have a good reason,” he said.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said the Government would decide what to do with remaining red-zone homeowners after April 2013.

“There is no point taking a position today on a completely unquantifiable proposition,” he said.

But with no services, insurance or resale value, he believed few, if any, people would reject one of the Government’s offers.

“I can quite understand people’s attachment to their homes, but the reality is there will be no essential services in these areas,” he said.

The latest figures from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority show 850 red-zone homeowners have accepted one of the two offers, with 85 requesting settlement as soon as possible.

Of these requests, 65 have been approved, with 10 cheques already issued and another 22 scheduled to go out soon.

- Fairfax NZ