The Earthquake Commission aims to have all claims for quake-damaged land in Canterbury settled by the end of 2014.
It says the owners of 70,000 properties have either made land claims already or have been identifiedas being on severely affected land.
The commission, which is assessing 170,000 properties has also announced two new categories for payouts.
Owners of damaged land in flat areas are now eligible for payouts at increased risk of liquefaction or flooding affecting its viability following the quakes.
EQC says it has 100 teams in place to begin assessing land damage from January and February next year.
