More info for home buyers
Planned changes to how the Earthquake Commission (EQC) works could mean the agency will give repair information to those considering buying a home.
People who have bought a house with faulty repairs are sceptical it will prevent Christchurch’s looming problem of ‘‘onsold’’ houses with earthquake damage, which the Government has acknowledged could be a billion-dollar issue.
Law changes are being put in place to increase EQC’s liability ‘‘cap’’ from $100,000 to $150,000 plus GST while ceasing cover for contents.
The changes, planned for July 2019, will give people longer to make a claim after a disaster, and clarify when EQC can share claim-related information.
A Cabinet paper outlining the proposed changes, released to The Press under the Official Information Act, said EQC would be able to publish information about natural disaster damage to covered properties where it was in the public interest.
‘‘This would, for example, enable real estate agents, prospective purchasers and insurers to formulate, or obtain answers to, questions about the damage and future insurability of a damaged property,’’ it said.
EQC advised that some homeowners had ‘‘strongly objected’’ to the damage data on their buildings being released, and a clear legislative statement would confirm EQC’s ability to share it, the paper said.
The question of what information EQC will release, or whether it would do so fast enough in the often rushed home buying process, is not yet clear.
A spokesman from Treasury, which has done the work behind the changes, said the amendments were ‘‘not prescriptive or directive as to ... what information EQC might release’’, but for EQC to assess and apply.
An EQC spokesman said it was still too early to determine what changes EQC may make to its policy.