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Auckland Council staff say that queries have been received over council’s liability in recent flood events. Governance director Phil Wilson mentioned the enquiries about liability at the Governing Body meeting on March 23, when he updated councillors about the recovery from recent flood events.
“People are challenging whether council is liable for costs associated with private property damage that is adjacent to council land,” Wilson said. “We are seeing the start of a process that will probably carry on for quite some time.”
Wilson did not have much information about that aspect available for councillors but said he would be looking to give more in the coming weeks.
Council was approached for clarity on whether it had received any formal legal challenges as yet, but did not respond by the time of publication.
Council is also conducting reassessments for stickered properties.
“There is most certainly a judgement to be made about whether those properties are viable going forward,” Wilson said.
He said being able to identify where it was unwise to rebuild properties gave council a good base for discussions with Government and insurers about compensation.
Mayor Wayne Brown said he was glad Wilson was “treading carefully” around conversations of managed retreat.
“That is definitely tricky. We are taking a financial risk because some people chose to take a physical risk,” Mayor Brown said.
