Families left high and dry as new homes sink

Sinking land is causing cracks in Hamilton's Wimbledon Close subdivision. Photo / Christine Cornege

A young couple were not told they were putting their savings and dreams into sinking land.

Next door, a husband and wife watched their patio break up as the soil underneath slowly dropped away.

Driveways have cracked and gaping holes have opened up under foundations in a Hamilton subdivision on swampy land, upsetting homeowners who feel helpless.

But the city council says it cannot find problems with the houses. They remain stable on stilts even as the land around them falls.

Nilesh and Vikashni Prasad moved into their first new house on October 1 with 3-year-old daughter Nishi.

After immigrating from Fiji in 2008, the schoolteachers worked hard to save for a house.

The house and land package in Wimbledon Close seemed perfect - enough space to raise a family and a price within reach.

But three months after they bought the package, on a visit to see their dream home take shape, they met their next-door neighbours, who told them about the land.

Fangeeta, who didn't want her surname used, had moved with her husband two years earlier into one of the first houses in the subdivision.

Within two months, her driveway began to crack. Rain poured out of a wetland reserve behind her property and swamped her backyard. The house's patio crumbled.

It became apparent that the soil under the houses was sinking.

"You would expect a new house to have little problem with rain - excuse my language, but it turned out to be s***, actually."

Another house built at the same time has a 30cm gap under its front wall, where the ground dropped away from the foundations.

"The next thing would be that we'll have a house with no land around it," she said.

The property was worthless and there was little chance of selling it.

Fangeeta said the developers had received consent to build, and the builders had met required standards. In her opinion, the council should never have let houses be built on the land.

Hamilton City Council city planning and environmental services business manager Lee Furness said the subdivision had been approved after a geotechnical assessment.

The report noted that the sites were on peat and would need a piled foundation, and extra care was necessary in constructing driveways and patios.

Ms Furness said the council found no problems with the houses in Wimbledon Close, considering consents dealt only with buildings.

"The council will not become further involved unless there is a problem with any of the building structures."

The council required that the report be made available to every prospective buyer and that their attention be drawn to it. The council had no concerns about its compliance process failing, she said.

Fangeeta said she had not been shown the report.

"If it was an old house we would have got reports done ourselves. But because it was a brand-new house, the council would have overseen it from the beginning."

Fangeeta's dealings with the council were a shock to Vikashni Prasad, who regretted her dream purchase before her family moved in.

"No one even mentioned it to us," Mrs Prasad said.

The realtors, Murray Homes, could not be reached for comment.