Private eye snoops on quake residents

Christchurch homeowners defying notices to leave their rockfall-threatened properties have been under surveillance from a private investigator.

The Christchurch City Council yesterday confirmed it had employed an investigator accredited by the Ministry of Justice to identify people still occupying red-stickered homes, saying it needed proof to pursue enforcement action.

About 500 Port Hills homes were issued notices prohibiting entry after the February 22 earthquake because of rockfall, cliff collapse or landslide danger.

The council said last week that a "small number" of notices to fix – effectively an immediate order to vacate the property – would be delivered, after which court injunctions could be sought.

Some Avoca Valley Rd residents were questioned on Friday about their living arrangements by a man with the addresses of red-stickered properties in their street.

The car he drove was registered to a Christchurch man listed as a private investigator on the electoral role and who appears on the Ministry of Justice register of private investigators and security workers.

Homeowner Heather Larson, who has neighbours living in red-stickered homes, said council earthquake building services manager Ethan Stetson denied knowledge of the private investigator.

She did not believe the man was a council employee.

"[A neighbour] said, `Who do you work for?' and he said, `I'm contracted to Ethan Stetson'. He was not worried about saying that."

The money would be better spent on security for the abandoned homes, she said.

"If the council are going to send a private investigator up here, and contract and pay him to see who's in their house, then why aren't they having [security patrols] coming up here at 2am as a drive-by," she said.

"Everyone up here has been paying their rates since February and half of them aren't even living here."

Council regulation and democracy general manager Peter Mitchell said yesterday a private investigator had been used "in some cases" to deliver proof of occupancy.

Notices prohibiting entry had been issued where geotechnical experts had reported that residents were at risk of being hurt or killed, he said. "We are obligated to act on this information and where we find residents have ignored these notices, we must proceed with enforcement. We must be able to prove that people are living at these addresses in order to go ahead with enforcement, we cannot rely on anecdotal information."

Jennifer Rochford, of Avoca Valley, said she had been open about living in her red-stickered home.

"With vehicles in the driveway and laundry on the line, [the evidence] is hard to ignore," she said.

"Because it doesn't seem that dangerous in our valley, I thought we were being ignored and [the council] would leave us alone. I felt like I was in a bubble and it burst that day [of the visit]."

She understood the council felt a duty to protect residents.

"Being dishonest is not the way to do it. You have to be open and give us all the information. What we want is some proof that we're actually in danger," Rochford said.

Phil Elmey, who has vowed to leave "in handcuffs", said the investigator had been spotted several times.

"He had a CCC [council] card on his shirt, so they'd obviously given him a card to make him look like he was an employee."

Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson said frustration was high.

"Some people have quite limited insurance, some have no insurance and some have insurance that's nearly run out," she said. "What are the options here? There aren't a lot if they haven't got any money."

- © Fairfax NZ News