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The Earthquake Commission (EQC) has now spent more than $300 million fixing “botched” home repairs in Canterbury, according to reports.
Stuff detailed new figures it has obtained from the EQC that outline that the commission spent $60 million on re-repairing quake-damaged homes in the past five months, taking the total to $315 million. So far, out of the total 11,700 re-repair claims, EQC had accepted 11,600. Of these, 1,300 exceeded EQC’s $100,000 legal cap and have been passed to private insurers.
EQC deputy chief executive for Canterbury and external affairs Renee Walker reportedly said a further $322 million is expected to be spent for future re-repair settlements, excluding costs of settling cases going through court. The forecast cost, Stuff noted, would be 10 times the $60 million to $70 million predicted bill by former EQC Minister Gerry Brownlee.
Despite this, the publication reported signs of progress at EQC after the release of a report from ministerial advisor Christine Stevenson in June. Since then, EQC has been reportedly settling claims at a faster rate, now close to 1,000 a month, while new claims for re-repairs are being lodged at a rate of nearly 750 a month.
