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Building and resource consents could be handed out retrospectively to homeowners trying to make the houses habitable in Canterbury.
Prime Minister John Key said Gerry Brownlee, Minister of Earthquake Recovery, was meeting this afternoon with insurers and the Earthquake Commission to decide whether legislation could be fast-tracked to allow people to get on and fix up their homes, without having to worry about the paperwork.
The meeting would consider whether the Resource Consent process could be sped up in the Canterbury region or consents could be approved retrospectively.
"One possibility is that there might be the need for urgent legislation to allow people in Canterbury to bypass the consents process to conduct work on their house and then retrospectively be paid by their insurers and also to retrospectively get their building consents," Key said.
Around 100,000 homes have been damaged by the Canterbury quake with 431 of them likely to be demolished.
Key said it was clear Cantabrians were still finding it hard to come to terms with the quake.
"There are Cantabrians who are really struggling under the weight of this earthquake, both emotionally and in terms of their prized possessions."
Key says he envisages the legislation would be passed next week if it is needed.
Brownlee said all the parties involved with consents have to be comfortable with any changes.
