A resident of Christchurch's red zone area, who is refusing the Government's buyout offer, say he will remain on his land despite uncertainty surrounding insurance and access to basic services.
Owners had until 5pm on Tuesday to take up a Government offer of either selling their land and removing their house, or selling both the dwelling and the land.
While 5930 have settled, 272 have yet to come to an agreement.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority warns that basic services such as water and sewerage may not be maintained, insurers might not renew their policies, and the authority retains the power to compulsorily acquire the land at a later date.
A Kaiapoi resident who has chosen to rebuild on his red-zoned land, Brent Cairns, says the land and underground infrastructure suffered little damage so there is no reason to cut basic services.
"The majority of the homes are actually liveable. There's complete services; homes have got cosmetic damage. There's no reason why people couldn't be living in this red zone."
He is confident he will be able to get insurance because his new house will meet the new building standard.
Tuesday's deadline does not include the Port Hills nor the CBD red zone.
