Court ruling may see Christchurch retirees evicted

Seven retirees face a bleak Christmas after the Supreme Court suggested they could yet be thrown out of their homes and ordered them to pay $5000 court costs.

Residents of a block of retirement flats in Curletts Rd in Sockburn yesterday said they were devastated after the court overturned rulings allowing them to stay in the flats.

The residents have been battling to stay in their homes since Cashmere Capital tried to take vacant possession of the property last year.

The former owner of the block, Crossdale Courts, borrowed about $1 million from Cashmere Capital but defaulted on the loan.

Residents paid between $40,000 and $60,000 to Crossdale for "guaranteed" life occupancy of their flats, but Cashmere Capital has argued it was not required to abide by the agreement.

Under the Retirement Villages Act, residents take priority before mortgagees, but it was unclear whether the flats were properly registered as a retirement village by Crossdale.

Cashmere Capital has twice tried and failed in court to gain vacant possession of the flats, but these rulings were overturned in the Supreme Court decision released yesterday.

It said the process in the High Court and Court of Appeal had been flawed and the case would return to the High Court for a full hearing.

It also awarded $5000 costs to Cashmere Capital, which must be paid by the residents.

Resident Mary Lory, 67, said the decision was not a nice Christmas present.

"There is no way I'm going to pay a penny to Cashmere Capital," she said.

Unlike other residents, Lory works, but the money she had set aside to paint her house would now be spent on legal fees. "We have had a gutsful of this."

Another resident, Tom Rainey, said continuing uncertainty about whether he would keep his home was like sitting on a razor blade.

Rainey paid Crossdale $45,000 to secure his flat, most of which was meant to be paid back to his family on his death.

"When you retire and you put your last savings into that place and it goes down the gurgler, you've got nothing," he said.

He was also critical of Crossdale's former owner, Gary Campbell, who went bankrupt last year and has since moved to Australia.

"Campbell should be answerable for his greediness."

Cashmere Capital's lawyer would not comment as the matter was still before the courts.

- © Fairfax NZ News