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Dave

Selwyn residents fighting for homes after being told they need to leave them by 2039 (www.rnz.co.nz)

submitted 7 months ago by Dave to c/southisland

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Residents of a small Selwyn community say they will keep fighting to save their homes after being told they must vacate them by 2039.

The district council last month voted to confirm the eviction of the entire Upper Selwyn Huts settlement on the shores of Lake Ellesmere because of the impact of climate change.

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[–] Dave 10 points 7 months ago (11 children)

It sounds like the land itself is owned by the Crown, so I guess this is a lease ending?

Also:

Fea said people were given no warning, which had been the hardest thing.

"It's come out of the blue and the reasons they're giving us, they don't justify the 15 years maximum." Selwyn Huts

Fea said residents would be urging the council at the public meeting to reconsider its decision - ideally they would like 30 years before they have to leave.

It's a bit rough for sure but I feel like saying they have been given no warning is a bit odd given they are being given 15 years warning. But I'm guessing they can't exactly sell their houses to move.

[–] liv 7 points 7 months ago (7 children)

It's not even leaseshold proper. It's baches on crown land with licenses that need renewing every 5 years. Some of them have until June 2024 and others another 15 years.

The thing is, no one was allowed to actually live in them full time until 2015. So I think what's happened is people thought cool, an affordable way to have a house, poured all their money in and then this... but yeah they've known for years.

By "climate change" specifically the flooding means the council can't give it a sewerage and wastewater system. People can be really deep in denial about climate stuff; you try to warn them and they think it's "political". Smh.

(I was just curious and read a bunch of articles to get a better picture. This from 2019 sets most of it out).

[–] Dave 4 points 7 months ago (6 children)

That looks like it's about a nearby settlement (Selwyn Hutts) that is being kicked out next year. This article is about Upper Selwyn Hutts, a separate settlement. They probably thought they were safe, though surely they would be starting to get the hint.

Weird though that your article has people say they poured all their money into it, but also say their family has owned the hut for 100 years. Maybe I'm misunderstanding their point.

But realistically, it seems crazy to pour all your money into a house that only gets it's lease extended for 5 years at a time! I guess the lesson is that cheap houses are cheap for a reason.

[–] liv 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Oh, sorry, my bad, didn't notice the two names. These are the ones who are out in June?

I am so confused by this hut system. It just doesn't seem like a good idea.

[–] Dave 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

It sounds like there may be 4 settlements with similar names in the same area!

The hut system is definitely not a good idea by modern standards, but it's 100 years old and runs on a similar system to other leasehold land. I even got the impression that perhaps the 5 year renewal cycle is reasonably new. Perhaps it started as 100 year then when it came up for renewal the council switched to 5 yearly while they worked out what to do.

[–] liv 2 points 7 months ago

Yeah it would have been fine back in the day, when there was housing for everyone.

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