Auckland floods: Newly built Onehunga homes rising on the site were severely flooded in January

A new development of townhomes being built on land that was flooded like a “lagoon” during Auckland’s unprecedented heavy rainfall on January 27 has drawn criticism from surrounding neighbors as “stupidity” and a potential risk for buyers.

Oakland Mayor Wayne Brown told… Announce He has concerns that resource consent plots have previously been flooded but neither the developer nor Auckland Council are aware of this.

The under-construction two- and three-bedroom collection of 24 townhomes at 63-65 Victoria Street in Onehunga is now up for sale, promising “lucky” families “casual comfort” and a “relaxing atmosphere.”

Brown says Auckland Council monitors new homes in at-risk areas and is urging developers to ensure they build homes up to 1.5 meters above estimated flood levels.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t build on (resource certified land) if it’s flooded,” Brown said.

“What I’m not happy about is some of the homes are flooded. We have resource consents on them where…no one seems to know they’re flooded.”

“If it is flooded and they build the houses 1.5 meters above the ground, that might be fine.”

Nearby resident Ross Gosnell said water from his home had previously flooded the home’s construction site after it began seeping from beneath his house during January storms and continued to flow like a river for weeks afterward.

Because of the high water table, water flowed from Gosnell’s house until it collected in a “lake” at the bottom of the hill at the construction site and on the grounds of the Samoa Church.

The site’s developer did not want to comment when contacted Announce.

But Gosnell said, in his opinion, “it’s just stupid” to build on the site.

Brown, who has spoken generally about the city’s real estate market, has previously asked where some of the homes in Auckland are being built.

“How did these dangerous homes get to where they are now?” The mayor said in A Announce column in March. “In many cases, houses have been allowed to be built where there was a previous history of land instability and stormwater problems. Lessons of the past have been forgotten, central government mandates have changed things adversely, or council positions have been overturned by Environment Court decisions.

Gosnell and another neighbor believe the new development raises questions about how Oakland will rebuild and plan for future flooding.

The January and March floods damaged about 7,000 buildings, including about 400 that are now considered uninhabitable.

The council and government now plan to spend more than $2 billion on buying back uninhabitable homes and preventing future flood damage.

Brown also said that if an area has been flooded before, it doesn’t mean new housing projects can’t be built there.

However, Brown said that was on the condition that developers and planners mitigate the risks, particularly by building higher homes. He said houses built at ground level in previously flooded areas should be set back.

Resource consent granted in 2021 for the Victoria Street house site shows it is in the “minor” flow path of a once-in-100-year flood.

Auckland Council said homes must be built 50cm above the expected flood level.

Gosnell said he understands that January’s flooding was caused by rain mixing with the water table, which was already high because Watercare months earlier had stopped pumping water from it.

Other new properties facing flood risks have also made headlines recently.

Last month, Mt Wellington’s first home buyers, Nick and Rebecca Selvatheesan, told… Announce They purchased a newly built townhouse where the backyard regularly flooded — even in the smallest “splash.”

Their house was built on an “overland flow path.”

The Salvathians now believe developers should not be allowed to build in a “known flood path”.

But developer Precise Homes said it had complied with all Auckland Council requirements and that record rainfall was the main cause of the Selvathisan family’s problems.

Meanwhile, Onehunga’s Gosnell said he would hate to hear about more young homebuyers struggling like the Selvathisans.

“It was a nightmare, I mean I had trouble sleeping, and I came home every day,” he said.

He asked fire brigades, Auckland Council and his local MP for help, but no one knew what to do.

Eventually, after weeks of running, the water stopped on its own. Even though he did not return, Gosnell’s anxiety did not leave him.

“Every time it rains hard now, you get this kind of sinking feeling,” he said.

Another local resident said he saw the construction site on Victoria Street, where the 24 new homes are being built, flooded twice this year, once in January and again in March.

Two industrial buildings adjacent to the site were also flooded, and the council placed them under yellow sticker orders until last month.

One resident said: “The fire brigade was not even able to pump out the first industrial unit as the water continued to rise for several days.”

When construction workers returned to the home site after the floods, the resident said he spoke to the project manager and said, “These are pictures of your house underwater, like it’s a lake, dude.”

One resident said the project manager asked if he could keep the photos, but construction continued anyway.

The resident said the site raised questions about whether Auckland Council should reconsider the building consents it granted for the sites before the floods.

However, Anna Wallace, Auckland Council’s central resource consents manager, said her team would not be reviewing the site’s resource consent approval.

This is because the council does not have the legal authority to review previously issued resource consents, she said.

She said that in addition to requiring homes to be built at least 50cm above the once-in-a-100-year flood level, land titles must also contain a notice making future owners aware of the risks.

Insurance Council of New Zealand spokeswoman Sarah Knox said homebuyers should not rely on obtaining a new home build approval alone as a guarantee that they would be able to obtain property insurance.

She urged buyers to do full due diligence on any home before purchasing.

Ben Leahy is an Auckland-based journalist covering real estate. He worked as a journalist for more than a decade in India, Australia and New Zealand.