One of the Auckland mayors negotiating a deal to take leaky homes cases out of the courts is threatening to walk away unless there is a better offer from Government.
Details of the latest proposal by Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson appear in a leaked discussion document.
Under the plan, owners who drop legal action against their council can settle for 30% of the cost of repairs. The Government would cover 10% of the scheme's total cost.
Anyone earning less than $76,000 a year would also get subsidies to bring their loan interest down to 5%, and anyone over 65 would have no interest or repayments in their lifetime.
The six most affected councils - Auckland, North Shore, Waitakere, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch - were to discuss the deal on Tuesday.
North Shore mayor Andrew Williams says the Government should take greater responsibility for problems created through changes to the building code.
He says although it is good that the Government is at least talking to councils, but his council may walk away from the deal if it doesn't feel it is good enough.
Auckland City mayor John Banks, who is spearheading the negotiations on behalf of all councils, says 50% of the cost should be borne by the homeowner, 25% by Government and 25% by local authorities.
Anything else would be too hard for low income families and people on fixed incomes, he says.
On Sunday, Mr Key told Television New Zealand programme Q + A the arrangement would allow people to fix their homes and then repay the costs over time.
He would not confirm details of who will contribute what.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey was reluctant to discuss how much councils will contribute ahead of the meeting, but says homeowners will bear the brunt of the burden.
Mr Harvey says there is no ideal solution to the leaky homes issue, but expects the proposed deal with the Government will endure.
