Residents who have had to leave flood-prone Christchurch properties are welcoming the possibility of rates relief but some would still rather be paid out.
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel has asked council staff to put together a rates relief plan for people forced to leave their homes because of severe flooding.
Many residents of the flood-prone Flockton Basin in the city's north-east have been out of their homes for months, and have been campaigning for a reduction in their rates.
A spokesperson for the Flockton Cluster residents group, Jo Byrne, expects rates to come down by about 40 percent, but the council says it is too soon to say.
Properties in the Flockton Basin have been repeatedly flooded. Photo: RNZ
Stephen Lennon, who had to move out of his home because of repeated flooding, said rates reductions would be welcome but the council should still offer to buy the worst-affected properties.
He said such a measure need not cost the council in the longer term, because on completion of flood remediation work the land could be sold. "It will be worth more, probably, because of the fact that it will be three years on, (the land is) close to the CBD, and the sections are quite good sizes."
