28 Jul 2023

Auckland Deputy Mayor expects flood buyout talks will miss deadline

From Checkpoint, 5:29 pm on 28 July 2023

Auckland's Deputy Mayor expects the deadline for details of a joint buy-out for flood damaged homes to come and go without a deal being sealed.

In June, the government anounced it will share the cost of buying out high risk properties with councils. 

The initial deadline to work out the split of who pays what, was the end of that month.

But with no resolution in sight, the government pushed the deadline back to the end of July, which is next Monday.

Meanwhile Auckland council's providing some relief to displaced flood victims exempting them from paying rates for the next year, with an option to extend the exemption for the another year if owners are still in limbo.

Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson concedes a resolution for homeowners is potentially a long way off.