Paul Tobin has been living without sewerage and kitchen facilities since Feb 2011, when the Canterbury Earthquake hit.
Nationwide
Its a very familiar story to many Canterbury residents. EQC has determined that the damage to 65 year old Paul Tobin's house is not earthquake related. Living in his 1880 cottage for over 25years Paul has enjoyed slowly restoring and rebuilding the home. When the Canterbury earthquake hit in February he had been told by EQC that repairs would be starting that week and that he should remove the kitchen bench so they could replace his kitchen floor.
3 years on, and his floor has rotted, like much of the other floors in his house due the liquefaction damage. His bedroom floor level has dropped over 70mm and EQC's assessment was that the damage to his floors and foundations are not earthquake related, but rather of poor construction/Maintenance, and that the damage was historical and pre existing.
They also claim to have repaired his sewerage 3 times, yet a plumbers inspection in November 2013 shows it is still broken, as it remains today. With the Christchurch city council removing the chemical dumping stations, it has left my father with no toilet facilities..... at all. Well, unless you count the bucket he now uses.
EQC has settled his claims paying out a total of $54,000, all of which was paid to the mortgagee, leaving my father with no money for repairing his home. As the house is badly damaged, and uninsurable, it is unlikely that he would get lending on it to repair the necessities. Lets face it, a sinking cottage on tc3 land,.... any buyers?
The funds raised for my father will go toward fixing the sewerage, which has been costed at around $5000. Any additional funds will go towards an engineering report($1600-$2400), and subsequently legal costs.
Please alsoconsider following us on our journey at www.Facebook.com/chchsewer by liking the page. Not only will this provide details of his progress but also help spread the cause to a wider audience of people who might also be willing to help Paul out of this situation.
Success. 20 January 2015
Paul is in the process of getting his home and sewerage repaired.
Thanyou all for your generous support!
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