In a major milestone for the recovery from the 2023 extreme weather events, more than 1000 Category 3 buy-outs have now been completed, helping families move away from homes facing serious risks from future floods or landslides.
As Auckland Council moves toward completion of the Category 3 buy-out programme, our home removals programme is also advancing rapidly with the team reaching their own milstone - 500 Category 3 homes have now been safely removed across the region.
Around a third of these homes were relocated to provide housing elsewhere, while the majority of the remainder have been carefully deconstructed, with materials going to a range of reuse opportunities.
Home Removals Programme Manager Kris Bird says the programme is making strong progress, with sustanability remaining front of mind.
“One dwelling we removed this month in Mount Eden was a two-storey house located at the rear section of a property. The house required cutting in half and then being lifted up and over other houses, before the home was loaded onto a truck and relocated to a family in Mangawhai.”
Midway through the removal of a two-storey Mount Eden home.
“It’s a great example of our team helping to complete the recovery journey– removing Aucklanders from high-risk situations, and repurposing the home for a second, safe life.”
The removal process
With around 1200 Category 3 properties set to be bought across the region, neighbours and local communitites are understandably curious as to when nearby council-owned properties will be removed.
Mr Bird explains that once council has completed the purchase of the property, a series of technical checks must be completed before removal work can start.
“These may include geotechnical assessments, asbestos testing, choosing the safest removal method, confirming access requirements, and arranging any required consents or traffic management”
Mr Bird says where homes share driveways or sit closely together, removals may need special approval or to be carefully sequenced with neighbouring properties.
“When we confirm detailed plans for each cluster of houses, we inform direct neighbours and previous homeowners. Active work areas will also be fenced-off and clearly signposted with contractor information and work dates, to keep the wider community informed.”
Shared ownership challenges
258 Category 3 properties are considered complex sites, due to them being involved in cross-leases or unit title situations. These take extra care and require agreement with remaining co-owners, under their lease or body corporate rules, before house removal can go ahead.
Once agreement is reached, council works with owners to update land titles, and this can be quite complicated on some sites.
“Many of these discussions are still underway, which means we cannot begin removal work on a lot of the properties yet”, Mr Bird says.
“We thank these homeowners very much for their understanding and cooperation.”
Maintenance and security
After settlement of a property, Auckland Council provides a basic level of maintenance. The focus is on maintaining areas visible from roads and footpaths, such as berms and front yards on properties that have road frontages.
Until council takes ownership, the private property owner is responsible for maintaining the site. You can report an issue with a council-owned property using the ‘Report a Problem’ tool on the council website.
Mr Bird adds that some houses are being boarded up, while others have cameras or security patrols in place.
“Unfortunately, empty homes can attract antisocial behaviour, such as vandalism and break-ins.
For anyone that does notice suspicious behaviour, you can help by reporting this to the police as soon as possible.”
More information
You can read more on the home removal process, as well as other recovery programmes such as future use decisions regarding this land.
If you can’t find the answer to your question or have concerns about a council-owned property, please let us know by emailing stormaffectedland@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz