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Changes to urgent repairs process from 1 Jan: EQC
07 Dec 2011
The Earthquake Commission has announced that from January 1, it is changing the process for urgent repairs. All the arrangements for making repairs will be handled by EQC and Fletcher EQR.
EQC Customer Services General Manager Bruce Emson says currently, customers can authorise their own repairs for urgent work up to $2000 in value, and invoice EQC.
Urgent repairs are those which ensure the house is safe to live in, secure, sanitary and weather resistant.
However, Mr Emson says with EQC completing assessments and well underway in repairing about 100,000 Canterbury homes, it needs to be able to better manage the repair workload, and customers will now be required to contact EQC to get the work done.
"Emergency repairs will be managed as the highest priority.
"Specialist EQC support staff will assess requests, and where the house in unsafe, insecure unsanitary or not adequately keeping out the weather, we will send someone in to do the work straight away.
"If they can wait, the repairs will be managed as part of the overall repairs.
"EQC has an enormous job planning the repairs programme for 100,000 properties, and this change is needed to allow us to plan efficiently for all repairs – emergency or otherwise.
"Any customer-authorised emergency work under $2000 completed before December 31, 2011, will be paid for by EQC, even if the invoice is not received until after 1 January 2012."
Mr Emson says customers who are managing all the repairs to their house themselves will be able to continue to self-authorise repairs as needed.
"If there are further damaging earthquakes, EQC will step up the resources available to deal with emergency repairs, but customers should still call EQC to organise the repairs unless they hear otherwise from us."
For more information contact: Iain Butler, EQC Media Manager, 029 978 6430; ibutler@eqc.govt.nz