Hutt City Council is rejecting claims by a Stokes Valley family it took too long to lift a dangerous building notice from their home following a landslide last July.
Tim and Jaime Philips said an engineer’s assessment for their insurer and Toka Tū Ake EQC by Tonkin and Taylor in September showed the house was sound.
But in a statement to RNZ, a council spokesperson said “as the regulator, it was held to a different standard under the Building Act, so could not use the insurer’s report as a basis for its decision”.
The council was sympathetic to the Philips’ situation and the considerable stress they had faced, the spokesperson said.
“Council has been in constant contact with the Philips and their representatives from the time of the slip. We have provided support to the Philips in a number of ways. This includes covering the initial cost of their emergency housing, helping them move their possessions out of their home, rates support and other welfare support and paying for engineering/geotechnical assessments that homeowners subject to a dangerous building notice would usually be expected to commission and pay for.”
Jaime Philips says the geotechnical report found the council stormwater drain contributed to the slip. Photo / Supplied
Furthermore, the council would also bear the full cost of repairing the slip, estimated to be up to $4 million.
“The council has no legal obligation to complete remedial works on private land nor will it receive any subsidy to do so, unlike work on public land.”
The council spokesperson denied claims the Philips were prevented from communicating with the media and elected members.
But after they appointed lawyers to represent them in September, the council and councillors were “required” to communicate through them, the spokesperson said.
Jaime said while her family would benefit from the council “sorting the small piece of land” at the top of the slip, which belonged to them, they would also have contractors accessing their property “for the foreseeable future”.
Contrary to the council’s claims it had been in constant contact with them and their representatives, there was no “checking in”, Jaime said.
“They have responded to questions when we put them in as LGOIMA (Local Government Official Meeting and Information Act) requests.”
The council did reimburse them for their initial emergency accommodation at their request, but it was paid for by the National Emergency Management Agency, Jaime said.
It took five months and numerous follow-up emails to confirm they could stop paying their rates, she said.
“We finally got clarity when Chris Hipkins’ office emailed the council about this.”
No one from the council helped them move their possessions from the house, she said. The staff who were there said they were just on site to “observe”, as per the council safety plan.
“I have a large group of friends who were there that day who can confirm this.”
Jaime said they did not seek a geotechnical report until late last year because the council had already asked them for access to their property to do site investigations and inspections.
