Media Release – 28 May 2013

Case-by-case extension criteria confirmed

Residential Red Zone residents who meet specific criteria will now be able to request an extension to the settlement date of their Crown offer by up to six months.

This criteria has been in-part developed after the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority hosted four Red Zone workshops for flat land property owners last week.

At these sessions over 400 residents who are concerned about their ability to move out of the Red Zone were able to further discuss their specific circumstances with CERA staff.

These workshops are a further step in the work CERA has done over the past two years to ensure Red Zone residents have all the information they need to make a decision about their future. That includes the hundreds of community meetings, individual meetings, mail outs and online video sessions created to distribute information to those who need it.

CERA chief executive Roger Sutton says hearing more from the affected residents at the workshops has been helpful.

“We have already been in contact with the majority of these people for a long time, so we have been aware of their concerns. However the workshops just gave us a chance to get more information about their situations, as no two cases are the same.”

Mr Sutton says cases for an extension will only be considered on strict criteria. That includes whether obstacles a property owner may have in settling are beyond their control, their particular health or age-related vulnerabilities, and the impact an extension may have on activities such as property clearances and infrastructure services.

Letters are going out to affected Red Zone property owners to explain the case by case extensions, and information can be accessed on the CERA website www.cera.govt.nz.

This includes information about services and support that may assist property owners to address the issues they are facing in meeting their settlement date.

While requests for extension up to 31 January 2014 are being considered, property owners will need to continue to progress towards their originally agreed settlement date. Many people may only need to extend their settlement date out by a matter of weeks, while others will need longer.

However Mr Sutton says the aim is to ensure people can move on as quickly as possible so that the clearance of the Red Zone areas can continue, and a future use of the damaged land then determined.

Those interested in seeking an extension or hearing more about the process can contact CERA on 0800 RING CERA.

This extension process only applies to owners of flat land property. Land in the Port Hills is still subject to a zoning review process and until decisions are made in regard to the overall zoning of land in that area, the potential for settlement extensions cannot be considered.

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