Quake package 'huge weight lifted'

Angela Wasley outside her earthquake-damaged home in October. Photo / Simon Baker

A mother whose home was seriously damaged in the Canterbury earthquake is praising a new Government package for displaced homeowners as a "huge weight lifted".

"This is the first really positive thing we've had out of the earthquake," Angela Wasley said.

"Half the stress around the earthquake has just been lifted instantly."

Under the financial package, announced by Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee today, those still having to pay mortgages even though they can't live in their earthquake-damaged homes, will get assistance in the cost of renting elsewhere.

Once their private insurance cover for alternative accommodation runs out, the homeowners are eligible for accommodation cover of up $330 per week for a household of three or more people.

There will be no income or asset testing involved, and people can apply for it from Monday.

Ms Wasley said her insurance cover for alternative accommodation would run out in the next week. Her property is in Avonside - one of the worst hit suburbs of Christchurch - and it is still unclear whether it will be cost-effective to to fix it because it is sunken and twisted.

"We are looking at fixing the house up to a standard (where) we can move back in, and this (Government package) just takes the weight off. It means Monday morning we can go in and get the rent covered while we figure out what we are going to do in the next few years. It's fantastic."

Ms Wasley said she qualified for a mortgage holiday, but that had now run out. A Red Cross grant had covered only her moving costs.

She had found a rental property for herself and her seven-year-old son for $300 a week, which the Government assistance would mostly take care of.

"Basically, the bottom line is having a safe place for the children to live, and people not to be worried about having the roofs falling in on them."

Mr Brownlee said there was a significant number of Cantabrians who are, or would be, displaced from their homes as rebuilding or repair took place, but he could not put a number on it.

He said there was no cap on how much the Government would pay out under the new package.

Click here for more details of the package.

"Most people have six or 12 months of temporary accommodation cover under their insurance policy, but the size and scale of this event means the recovery process will take longer than that."

The Canterbury earthquake has been ranked as the fourth most expensive quake in international history. As of February 17, the Earthquake Commission had received 181,107 claims.