Owner frustrated at battle over home

Jenny Ericksen in front of her Taradale house, that she says can no longer be lived in because of subsidence. Photo / Warren Buckland

Jenny Ericksen's home is sinking and and so too are her hopes of resolving the ongoing saga.

She has spent the past two years researching the underwater pipes near her Taradale house, getting engineering reports done and arguing with the Napier City Council about what caused her house to subside and who is to blame.

The stress of it has affected her health as did the increasing dampness in her home which forced her to look for somewhere else to live.

"It's been a nightmare," the 72-year-old said.

Mrs Ericksen bought 34 Hammond Rd in March 2012. It was a "lovely" three-bedroom home.

The bathroom had to be upgraded due to a pending hip operation when workman noticed the floor was slanting and the south side of the house was cold and damp.

She informed Napier City Council who duly inspected the house. They put cameras down the underground pipes to monitor the stormwater, closed off another pipe and hired independent consultants.

In May 2013, Opus consultants found that the house had sunk between 53 and 66 millimetres which was in excess of what would be considered "normal". Some of the slumping of the south-west corner of the house had happened over the past 12 months and had accelerated in recent months, the report stated.

The consultant said the sinking was due to moist, wet soil. It did not say how the soil came to be wet. Mrs Ericksen said at that time the region was experiencing severe drought.

A second report by Babbage Consultants said "significant watering" of a vegetable garden contributed to the collapsed soil.

Mrs Ericksen said this was a "ridiculous" assessment as there was no vegetable garden where the soil had collapsed and she had never watered that part of her garden.

Babbage Consultants produced another report following Mrs Ericksen's complaint and ruled that the subsidence was historical and had likely happened in the first few years following construction in 1979.

Napier City Council chief executive Wayne Jack said a lot of time and money was spent looking into Mrs Ericksen's property and the council had done engineering assessments.

The engineers could not determine where, if anywhere, the water was coming from. They had ruled that it was not coming from any council pipes and the council was not liable.

Her insurance company has refused to cover the damage because it was caused by subsidence.

Two years after the reports were completed the issue seems to have stagnated. Mrs Ericksen is stuck with a damp, leaning property she can't sell. And she still has many questions that she believes have gone unanswered.

Mrs Ericksen said "others would've given up but I can't, it's my house."

"I just want my life back."

Mr Jack said the house had subsided a little but that was not "unnormal". The council was looking to test the age of the water in the area to see if this shed any light.

"We are still working through it but there is not a great deal we can do," Mr Jack said.