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Two houses on one of Hamilton's most exclusive streets are precariously perched atop a 10m bank and the occupants of one home have been evacuated after an excavation job below them went wrong on Tuesday evening.
And Hamilton City Council said the developer who was clearing the land, Joe Wright, did not have permission to do so. He disputes that.
It is understood heavy rain, combined with soils that have a good degree of sand content, contributed to a large slip at the Awatere Ave property as contractors tried to clear a large bank to make way for two apartments.
The homes above, with views across the Waikato River, are worth up to $900,000 each.
The art deco home's backyard patio steps are hanging over the edge of the cliff.
Mr Wright said the council's claim that he did not have permission to cut into the bank was wrong.
"Yes, we have it [consent]. I've talked to my architects. No, we haven't got building consent but it's a consent to excavate. They're totally different things."
Council environmental manager Graeme Fleming said Mr Wright was confused.
"He has a resource consent and cutting into the land is okay, subject to a building consent. But it [building approval] relies on a structural engineer and geotechnical engineer's report which are yet to be done."
He said a building consent for Mr Wright had still to be approved.
The council would deal with the emergency before addressing the legal aspect of what Mr Wright had done.
Hamilton chief fire officer Roy Breeze said geotechnical engineers gave the art deco house a 50 per cent chance of survival.
"It's dangerous. Two engineers told me yesterday that without rain there is a 10 per cent chance of getting a reasonable drop and there's a 50 per cent chance if we get more heavy rain over the next few days."
Mr Breeze said if no remedial work took place, which included drilling anchors into the bank and driving large retaining poles into the ground, the houses would be lost.
That work took place all day yesterday and a concrete truck was brought in to help shore up the bank.
The art deco house appears at most risk and owner Lesley Wright said she had agreed to evacuate on Tuesday evening.
She has two young daughters although she declined to say whether they lived with her at the home.
Ms Wright is the estranged wife of property developer Joe Wright, who said he was "naturally concerned" that the bank had given way.
"It's been stressful. Obviously we didn't expect there to be a slip at all."
He was adamant he had the go-ahead for the work to be done.
"I did a similar one a bit further along the river, exactly the same thing, and nothing happened."
He considered the method being adopted by contractors was the best option, although one neighbour criticised the procedure, saying short cuts appeared to have been taken.
Mr Fleming also said it would have been more prudent to take small slices of land away, shoring up each section as the job progressed.
"In hindsight you get a lot of experts," Mr Wright said.
Clearing work on the subdivided section below the houses began last Friday, although several palm trees were taken away for replanting about two weeks ago.
Further vegetation has been cleared over the past few days but rain has complicated the job.
