A report into the Earthquake Commission says it routinely failed to provide homeowners with information on their damaged houses within a reasonable time, with delays of up to seven months in processing requests under the Official Information Act.
The report by the Chief Ombudsman and the Privacy Commissioner says the information request backlog was avoidable and has made 13 recommendations to speed up the process.
The report says it accepts that the Earthquake Commission is working in extraordinary times, with up to 70 new requests for information a week in quake-hit Canterbury last October, rising to 160 a week, two months later. In April alone, there were more than 1300 overdue requests for information.
Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem says the failure to respond in 20 working days is partly because the approach is overcomplicated.
The report's recommendations include streamlining the process and improving the quality of call centre staff.
EQC chief executive Ian Simpson says struggle with information requests is no secret and the recommendations are being implemented. He says the backlog should be cleared by the end of April 2014.
An earthquake community group says the report on the ineffectiveness of EQC highlights the frustration of getting information about their own properties.
Brent Cairns from the Wider Earthquake Communities Action Network says some of his information requests about his Kaiapoi home have taken years to be processed.
