Landslip house may be largest EQC section payout [+pictures]

The owners of the house are yet to lodge a claim. Picture / Dean Purcell

The house teetering on the edge of a collapsing cliff on Auckland's North Shore could become the largest single payout by the Earthquake Commission for a dwelling and section.

The $1 million house was declared uninhabitable yesterday after its backyard and part of its deck with a spectacular harbour view, disappeared into Auckland's Waitemata Harbour.

The owners were overseas and Earthquake Commission engineers said it would be no surprise if more of the cliff tumbled into the harbour, probably taking the house with it.

EQC insurance manager Lance Dixon said if the land and house were written off and the owners were paid the $1 million value, it would beat the EQC's previous largest payout for a house and section by $300,000.

Today EQC engineers monitored the house and section but more cracks surrounding land painted a grim picture for the Awanui Street house's future.

The owners had yet to lodge a claim but EQC said it had made initial contact with them to discuss the future of the house.

He said if the owners had not insured the house, there would be no EQC cover but 90 per cent of houses in New Zealand were insured.

He said houses were insured up to a value of $112,500 by the EQC and the owner's private insurers usually made up the difference.

If the section was also declared unusable, EQC would pay out after a valuation and that could be a $1 million payout.

"If we paid out $1 million it would be (the largest). Our largest payout to date has been in the vicinity of $700,000 down Ohiwa Harbour way, around Opotiki."

He said once an engineer had some idea of what remedial work, if any, could be done, they would decide if it was economic for the work to go ahead.

Engineers continued to monitor the house and the cracks in the ground today but there had been little rain and no more movement.

- NZPA