Sinking sections follow-up: 'We didn't sign up for this'

The only ones happy at a Wimbledon Close property are the ducks. They live out the back, where they can splash about to their hearts' content in the lake. There shouldn't be a lake in the back yard, but it's there almost year round. And the ducks' owners want it gone. Better yet, they want out of the property.

The section is sinking into the peat soil, along with others in that street and in neighbouring Twickenham Place, which Hamilton News reported on last week.

The residential sections also border a swampy reserve.

Hamilton City Council officials are aware of the issue and have sought legal advice.

This family's house, like others nearby, sits on deeply driven piles to ensure its stability in the soft peat. But the underground services are being compromised as they get dragged down with the sinking soil.

There are regular electricity outages which means the owners are regularly without power, and their pump-operated sewerage system can't be used until power is restored.

Gas mains regularly trip, which shuts down their gas-powered hot water. Cold showers are a regular occurrence. And they can't use their gas stove top because the risk of a gas explosion is too great. And while the house may be structurally sound for now, its owners query whether that will always be the case.

The piles are exposed as the soil sinks beneath them.

The waterproof lining beneath the foundation is loose and they wonder how long it will be before damp sets in. A sagging wooden deck sits limply between two living areas. It's not safe to use.

The section is a boggy mess. There used to be gardens out the back but since the lake formed, and hasn't evaporated, the owners decided they may as well get some pet ducks who'd enjoy the lake.

The lake is overflow from the neighbouring wetland in Farnborough Drive Reserve and from the shallow water table beneath them. It is worse when it rains.

"We've been fighting this for four years now. Our patience has run out."

They paid $415,000 for the property. Now they say it's worth $339,000 and their mortgage is more than that.

"But we couldn't sell it. Who'd buy this? We just want out. We want to be relocated so we can start again. We didn't sign up for this."

As part of the building consent, the developers were to obligated to pass a copy of the engineering reports that outlined the soil structure on to the first home buyers.

The couple say they were never given a copy of the report when they bought the property in 2007.

The couple has since stopped paying rates. "After all, what are we paying for?"

The owners asked Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe to get involved. Hamilton City Councillor Dave Macpherson has also waded in.

"In my opinion, council should just get the place fixed and continue the fight with those organisation [EQC and the couple's insurance company]," said Mr Macpherson.

"It's not the landowners' fault. We consented something that turned out to be a dog. It's like a mini version of leaky homes but it's not the homes that are leaky, it's the ground."

He believes that to do "a proper job" of fixing the property would cost about $100,000. The driveway, deck and underground services would need to be on piles. But that wouldn't stop the soil from continuing to subside.

In an interview last with Hamilton News, council's building control manager Phil Saunders said the the subdivision reports went through a "pretty strict process".

"Included were a lot of due diligence from the subdivider who has to be able to show that they can connect to the city systems. It's also a requirement for an engineering analysis and on a subdivision that's a pretty big analysis. That goes into soil structure and so on and so forth."

Mr Saunders says because the land is peat, deep piles are used to support the buildings.

"That's a tested method that's been around 30 or 40 years. Outside of the platform there will subsidence. That naturally occurs on peat. Peat continues to subside for millions of years. Can't do much about it.

Mr Saunders said council "obviously has concerns about what's going on".

"We're probably limited in what we can do. We don't have the ability to go in there and fix all the problems. We just don't have that ability because of our position and our legal advice. And people have to be aware of how they can fix their own problems or mitigate their problems."