Owners of homes in Tauranga's failed Bella Vista development say they're exhausted fighting the Tauranga City Council but will take it to court for just and fair compensation.
The 21 homeowners in the subdivision were served with eviction notices in March as the homes were deemed too dangerous to live in after issues with construction and inspections.
The residents have now rejected the council's offer to buy the homes.
Homeowner Sarsha Tyrell today told media the council offered to purchase the homes for the same price the owners paid for them up to nearly three years ago.
The offer "would, essentially, leave many of us in a situation where we would not be able to re-home ourselves in this market and strip us of an opportunity to potentially own a home again. Would you take that offer in our shoes?" she said.
"This is a situation that the council can very easily remedy. What we are asking is to be restored to the position that we would have been in had the council properly carried out the work that we trusted them to do like any of you would.
"What we are asking for is not unreasonable. It is just and fair. If you were in our shoes would you not be asking for the same."
“We are exhausted and the last thing that we wanted to do was to enter into court proceedings
Ms Tyrell said the past four to five months have taken a toll on the homeowners financially and emotionally.
"We are exhausted and the last thing that we wanted to do was to enter into court proceedings.
"When the council met with us on June the 6th and made their decision to buy the properties, we finally saw a small light at the end of the tunnel. We thought that finally some normality would be restored to our lives.
"It was yet another devastating blow when we realised that the June 6 decision seemed to be nothing more than another empty promise."
Ms Tyrell said the owners "have found ourselves in a position where we must now issue court proceedings and take action against the council. It has become apparent that the council is not prepared to do what is fair and just in this situation, and therefore we have no choice but to issue proceedings and turn to the legal system for help."
The council last month said it considered the offer a fair and reasonable approach to make sure homeowners are compensated for the amounts that they have spent through this process.
It included an additional amount to reflect the emotional toll the ordeal had taken, the council said.
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