The Abbotsford home at the centre of a landslip dispute between the Dunedin City Council and its former occupants has sold for $1000.
Amanda Bradley and Rewi Abraham were left paying annual rates on the uninhabitable Torquay St house after landslips eroded its structural integrity, moving the foundations and opening large cracks in walls.
The couple fought the Dunedin City Council over what they believed was a lack of disclosure, as a land information memorandum (Lim) report did not contain any mention of previous damage to the property as a result of a landslip in 1994 or a 1996 report, partly commissioned by council, on the 1994 rain event and resultant slips.
The council said it was unaware EQC had previously assessed landslip damage at the property and the report only explicitly mentioned damage to a neighbouring property at the "paddock end of Torquay St''.
Miss Bradley said the pair were relieved to sell the house as they did not have the funds to continue to fight the council through the courts.
"It's taken the stress off our shoulders,'' she said.
"We don't have to pay rates any more.''
The couple had to foot $844 in annual rates despite the house having all services cut following the landslips.
Miss Bradley and Mr Abraham received an insurance payout, which allowed them to buy another section, but it was not enough to pay for the demolition of the Torquay St house.
They are building a new home elsewhere in the city and hope to move in by summer.
The couple bought the Torquay St house in April 2014.
It was about 1km from the site of the 1979 Abbotsford landslip that destroyed 69 homes.
The pair were told to evacuate the house by a geotechnical consultant in February 2015, and a further assessment by EQC found it was uninhabitable.
The sale was finalised on Monday and Miss Bradley explained that they were happy to accept the $1000 offer just to be able to put the chapter behind them.
"We are grateful and we are so happy we no longer have that stress. I'm absolutely happy to have the stress behind me.''
The buyer, who did not wish to be identified, said he intended to repair the house.
"It's entirely fixable,'' the new owner said.
It was a "bit premature'' to place a cost on the repairs but he anticipated it could be done for $20,000-$30,000.
"It's going to be fixed, put it that way. I'm absolutely confident in it,'' the buyer said.
He expected to fully assess the house during the next three to four months to decide what steps need to be taken and what the cost would be.
Miss Bradley said the buyer was vague in regards to his plans for the house during their negotiations.
"I asked him on three occasions what he was going to do with it and he said: ‘I have my reasons','' she said.
A statement from EQC, in response to questions in May, said the land was "considered unsafe to build on''.
