Auckland Council to start contacting owners of storm-damaged homes

Hundreds of Auckland homeowners will hear from the council on Wednesday about what comes next for a voluntary buyout for their storm-damaged properties.

There are about 700 known high-risk properties in New Zealand, of which about 400 are in Auckland, but that excludes landslide-affected homes, such as in Muriwai.

Auckland Council group recovery manager Mat Tucker said they still needed more information from homeowners before confirming their categories.

"To help us with the risk assessments, we're asking homeowners to provide more information about their properties so we can more quickly work through the risk categorisation process," he said.

"Property owners can go online to a secure form to provide information about their property that Auckland Council doesn't currently hold, such as how the building is used or whether there is a history of flooding. We encourage homeowners to provide as much relevant information as they can so that we can reach an accurate categorisation as fast as possible."

Starting Tuesday, Tucker said the council would contact hundreds of residential property owners this week to explain their property may fall into the government's high-risk property category, and that a detailed risk assessment is needed.

It would take time to reach all of the thousands of storm-affected homes in Auckland, he said.

"This is a really complex situation, and we need to ensure that fair and robust decisions are being made when assigning risk categories to homes so everyone has confidence in the process and the outcome.

"These decisions will determine whether it's safe for people to keep living in some locations and will have long-term impacts on some people's lives."

Wellington-based insurance expert John Goddard said the council should be providing homeowners of high-risk category houses with a roadmap of what was ahead.

"Once a property is selected, what options does a homeowner have? What agency do they need to be engaging with? What submissions are they able to make? How can they prepare for a hearing? Do they have rights of appeal? All of those sorts of things."

Goddard said the council's aim should be to reduce the uncertainty for affected homeowners.

The government had committed to supporting a buyout scheme, but details about the process for high-risk category three homes were still being worked through.

Buyout discussions ongoing

Meanwhile, Tucker said Auckland Council was still in back-room talks with central government about how much funding it would put towards voluntary buyouts of storm-hit homes.

"Central government has made a commitment to that so the prospects are good.

"I couldn't talk to how that will work right now because I simply don't know the answer. There are urgent discussions between central government and Auckland Council taking place as we speak to try and get through that."

Goddard said a lot was hanging in the balance.

"I think [the voluntary buyout scheme] is likely to go ahead, but what remains uncertain is the extent to which it will be implemented.

"That could depend on a number of factors including the outcome of the election in October and the negotiations that will inevitably take place between Auckland Council and central government."

Tucker said the council would have a dedicated call centre for people affected.

"In addition to the homeowners we're already in contact with, there may be properties that were damaged in the storms that weren't reported to the council," he said.

"If your home was impacted but you don't hear from us, you can go online to the council website to find out more. If you think you should be included in the risk assessments, you can complete the form too."

Category confusion

There had been some confusion between the red, yellow and white placards issued by councils immediately after the storms, and the government's risk categorisation framework announced in May.

"Placards indicate an immediate safety risk at a property after an emergency event. The government's new property risk categories, however, consider whether there is a future risk," he said.

"There isn't a direct link between placard colours and the risk category so it's possible that a home with a red placard could become either a category 1, 2 or 3, based on a detailed risk assessment. Conversely, a home without a placard could be category 3 if there's a future risk at that location."