A Christchurch family have found themselves stuck in an unliveable house with an insurance payout that's $200,000 short of what's needed to repair it.
Georgia Scott points out the cracked foundation in the her house. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
Georgia Scott, her partner and their two young children moved into their Heathcote home last year.
On the first night it caught fire, forcing them out again while repairs were carried out.
While these were being done it was discovered the earthquake damaged foundations they thought had been repaired by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) were still a problem.
Ms Scott said after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, EQC finally admitted it had failed to pick up on the original damage.
"Very quickly they went through the process of sending out engineers and geotechs ... and surveyors and things and they quickly established that yes it was as per their original [scope of works].
"So they've openly admitted from day one that it's their fault."
EQC agreed to pay out close to $130,000, the maximum amount.
But the couple had gone over-cap.
This is the point at which a claim is handed to a person's private insurer which then pays any additional money required to return the house to its pre-earthquake state.
Except in this case things were more complicated, because the couple only found the quake damage after they had purchased their home, and because the previous owners had not transferred to them the rights they had under their private insurer's policy, Ms Scott and her partner's private insurer was unwilling to come to the party.
Ms Scott and her partner's home damaged by a fire that happened on their first night in the house. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
This meant Ms Scott and her family were more than $200,000 short of the money they needed to repair the quake damage to their home.
"It is heartbreaking, you can't think of anything worse really.
"And actually, our words before popping the kids to bed were ... 'this is our forever home'. Not the ideal words.
"We did get a pre-purchase inspection, we did get a building surveyor through to do their bit, that's what they are qualified in doing ... and still they've let us down."
If EQC had done its job and fixed the damage to the foundations they would not have been in this position in the first place, she said.
For now the family is living in a sleepout at the back of their property. The children sharing a bed in a tiny room.
"It's definitely chilly, lots of condensation, it really isn't ideal.
"But we're making it work, for the time being, we've got no other choice."
The family are living in a sleepout at the back of the property and are preparing a case against the EQC. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
The couple's lawyer, Andrew Hooker, said EQC originally decided the house needed extensive repairs but then downgraded this to minor work.
They were now preparing to take a case of negligence against EQC, he said.
In a statement EQC said it had reviewed the case and was satisfied the couple were paid enough to enable them to carry out their foundation repairs.
It said the case was handed to the couple's private insurer which had its own process for settling claims.
