Human Rights Commission

People affected by the earthquakes have the right to have their say on decisions that affect them. To do this, they need access to information about how these decisions are made, and how they can voice their concerns or make appeals.

This section collects in one place the review or appeal rights for common situations people in Canterbury are facing.

This information comes from the websites of the Christchurch City Council, CERA, Fletcher Earthquake Recovery, the Office of the Ombudsmen and from research by the Human Rights Commission.

Some review and or appeal rights relate to a particular issue and others apply in most, if not all, situations.

Declining the government’s offer

• What will happen to my property if I decide that I do not want to accept the government’s offer?

EQC

• Opting out of the EQC managed Canterbury Home Repair Programme
• Complaints about repairs and resolving disputes with EQC
• What complaints processes are available if I am unhappy with the Fletcher Earthquake Recovery or building contractor repairs/service provision?

General HRC information on accommodation, property, landlords and human rights

• Including useful links regarding earthquake accommodation

General Zoning Issues

• The ultimate future of the land in the residential red zones
• Zoning of my house

Obtaining reasons for decisions made by CERA about you

• CERA has made a decision about me, can I find out why that decision was made and the reasons for it?
• What is the maximum timeframe for responding to Official Information requests, if the responding body has asked for more time without specifying a time-frame?

Obtaining reasons for decisions made by a council about you

• Can I find out why the council has made a decision about me?
• What will happen to my property if I decide that I do not want to accept the government’s offer?

Other rights of review/appeal

• Judicial Review
• The Office of the Ombudsmen
• Petitioning Parliament
• The Real Estate Agents Authority
• Insurance & Savings Ombudsman (ISO)
• The Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income

Red stickered notices

• My home or a building I own has a red sticker notice under section 124 of the Building Act on it, what rights do I have?
• Proper use of legislation
• Who pays for work on red stickered buildings?

Witholding of ‘economically sensitive or ‘commercially sensitive’ information

• What is the legal basis for bodies such as EQC, CERA, Insurers etc. to be able to withhold information because it is “economically sensitive” or “commercially sensitive?” Is there a legislative basis for this? What does this phrase actually mean in legal terms?

Zoning decisions

• The government’s offer to purchase a property and appealing zoning decisions
• If I am unhappy with the government’s offer for their property how do I get this reviewed?