- Christchurch couple selling their multimillion-dollar home after successfully challenging a council flood-hazard notice.
- The notice increased insurance costs and hindered sales, despite the rebuilt property meeting consent requirements.
- Flood protections were deemed adequate, and the four-bedroom riverfront home carries a $2.81m RV.
A multimillion-dollar Christchurch home is up for sale after the owners won a lengthy battle to have a council hazard notice removed from the property’s title.
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Jocelyn and Roger Atkinson told OneRoof that their years-long struggle started in 2011, when the earthquake irreparably damaged their property at 12 Clifford Avenue, in the upmarket suburb of Fendalton.
They built a new house on the site, following the consent requirements, which included 137 piles and a rib raft engineered foundation, but then Christchurch City Council put a section 73 hazard notice on the title.
“We finally got to the end of all that [insurance] nonsense and as a condition of the final building consent, the council said, ‘we want you to agree to having a section 73 notice put on the title’. We didn’t agree,” Roger told OneRoof. “But the council slapped the notice on anyway.”
The luxury home was designed by Sheppard and Rout Architects and beautifully constructed in 2018 by Honeybone Builders. Photo / Supplied
The house is close to the river. Photo / Supplied
The new home’s design and build followed the building consent exactly, was built 800mm higher than the old floor level, Roger said.
“At the time we said to the council, ‘What is the hazard you’re talking about?’ Because they assured us that the house was built to all the requirements. They said there was a hazard to the land. But no, they couldn’t tell us what the hazard was.
“They were using a formula which said that if the water level got above a certain level within a certain distance of the house, then it was automatically a hazard. And that’s pretty crude. Nobody’s ever visited the site. It was all done as a desktop exercise.”
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Roger said they never had a problem with flooding in the 34 years they had lived at the property.
The hazard notice on the title sent their insurance premiums soaring, and also made the property more difficult to sell.
But then the couple read that a section 73 hazard notice had been removed from the title of Tauranga property following an intervention by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
The Atkinsons decided to go through the same process, and their own determination, released earlier this year, found that while the property was likely to be subject to flooding during a significant weather event, adequate measures had been put in place to protect the land and house from damage. It ruled that the hazard notice should not have been placed on the title.
The kitchen is by Ingrid Geldof Design. Photo / Supplied
The agent says the property has “wow factor”. Photo / Supplied
It was a relief for the Atkinsons, who had future-proofed the home’s design so they could live the rest of their lives there.
However, their plans changed unexpectedly after they spotted a nearby apartment for sale. “We’re actually leaving reluctantly,” Roger said. “Suddenly this opportunity came up which we weren’t expecting. An apartment down the road.”
Harcourts listing agent Marie Sherry told OneRoof that the Atkinsons’ home at 12 Clifford Avenue was a standout in the market, noting that new homes could no longer be built so close to the river.
“If you look from an aerial shot, there’s no other house that is as close to the river as theirs. When you’re standing in their living room, you look out past the deck, and the water is right there. It literally appears to be underneath the deck even though it’s not. And it has a wide river frontage. The view from inside is absolutely beautiful. It’s stunning.”
Sherry said that the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home was designed by Sheppard & Rout Architects and brought the word “wow” to viewers’ mouths.
She wrote in her listing on OneRoof: “The quality of this property is unmistakable. Warm oak floors help showcase the heart of the home; a stunning Ingrid Geldof Design kitchen complete with spacious scullery.
“The kitchen sits within a generous open-plan living room, which offers plenty of space for family and friends to gather. Glass doors out to the private back courtyard mean you can catch the sun whatever the time of day.
“An integrated surround-sound music system, operable both inside and out, makes this home perfect for entertaining, while the list of quality appliances and chattels is extensive.”
The property has an RV of $2.81 million.
- 12 Clifford Avenue, Fendalton, Christchurch, goes to auction on August 19
