Writer Joe Bennett has been told he can stay in his Lyttelton home, but his neighbours have to go.
More than 500 houses in the Port Hills were red-stickered after the February 2011 earthquake because they were deemed too dangerous for habitation.
The Christchurch City Council issued notices to 27 homeowners on the Port Hills at the end of last year telling them they must leave their properties.
The council says the homes are in danger from collapsing cliffs and landslides after the area's massive earthquakes.
Mr Bennett - one of the most vocal leaders of the residents' fight to stay - says he was supposed to leave his property by 18 January but the council has reassessed his house and says it is safe.
He says he will still continue to lobby the council in support of his neighbours.
The council says geotech engineers are reassessing individual properties in the Port Hills area and red stickers may be removed from some houses.
