-
Grant Collins, Ngongotaha resident. - Source: Close Up -
Watch Video
Three Rotorua homeowners say they are willing to fight the Rotorua District Council to keep their dream homes.
Just a few years after the Ngongotaha residents moved in to their homes they began sinking and cracking.
Despite the ground they are built on being soft and unstable, Rotorua District Council signed it off as being suitable to build on.
Documents obtained by Close Up show that the council was well aware of the ground stability issues in the earliest days of the subdivision's completion.
Close Up has a copy of a legal document which describes the situation just after the first houses were built as "fraught with all sorts of potential difficulties".
"There's no denying the magnitude of the problem and the obvious difficulty that may exist in the successful implementation of remedial measures," it states.
The residents are angry that building consent was granted in the first place by Rotorua District Council.
"We had all the right paper work - when you have the right paper work signed off by your local council you expect that the house is good to go," said Grant Collins.
"Well we moved in and slowly the house has been tipping over."
Neighbour John Grundy agreed saying that the "Rotorua District Council must accept responsibility for its mistakes".
Ngongotaha resident Richard Davis said that one side of his house in dropping in one direction, while the opposite side of the house is dropping in the other direction.
Grundy said: "It's pulling the house apart and this is after four years.
"It's not Christchurch, but the house is sinking."
The troubled homeowners have the opinion of building experts behind them.
An engineer's report, seen by Close Up, states: "In our opinion the only long term solution to your problem is to demolish the house, preload the site and reconstruct a new house on a raft foundation."
The constant subsidence has led the Department of Building and Housing to effectively condemn the three houses.
It has revoked their building consents and code of compliance certificates.
However, settlement over the nightmare homes appears to be a long way off.
The council has decided to take the case to court - to try to overturn the Department of Building and Housing ruling to rescind the building consents and code of compliance certificates.
Resorting to legal action means the homeowners will now have to delve into their own pockets to defend their positions.
"They are using our rates to fight us, it's ridiculous, it's farcical," said Collins.
"Well I'm not walking anywhere, I'm here for the long haul, and if they want a fight I'll give them a bloody fight."
A statement from Rotorua District Council said it was "confident the subsidence is not a result of poor processes".