Coastal erosion has eaten away at the cliff face, leaving the houses perched precariously above.
To ensure the safety of the owners, and others nearby, the Hurunui District Council has stepped in.
It is discussing the future of the houses with their owners as they are getting close to ‘‘threatening to fall off’’ the cliff, says chief executive Hamish Dobbie.
‘‘They are getting pretty close to the edge,’’ he says.
‘‘We have an opportunity now to get a good outcome.
‘‘There is a long legal process under the Building Act to deal with situations like this when there is a risk to homes and life.’’
The process of the houses being issued with Dangerous Building Notices, under the Act, is under discussion with the owners, he says.
The Act, considers a building dangerous if is is likely to cause ‘‘injury or death’’ to any one in it, or to other property.
He says a Geotech report has been done, and now ‘‘we are in discussions with the owners’’ to ensure the safety of everyone, so lives are not being put at risk.
Coastal erosion is not a new problem at Motunau Beach, says Mr Dobbie.
‘‘It has been an ongoing problem for years.
‘‘The council owns a section on the cliff.
‘‘The house was removed because of the risk it posed,’’ he says.
Mr Dobbie warns coastal erosion is a ‘‘fact of life’’.
‘‘It is a natural process in the coastal environment and we will work with land owners to deal with it.’’
The important thing was to find ways of dealing with what was happening to the ‘‘environment around us’’.
‘‘Sometimes houses toppling from cliffs happen catastrophically, as was the case recently in the North Island.’’
Over the past three years the council has consulted with its beach communities to establish Coastal Adaptation Plans in response the coastal erosion.
Meanwhile the brakes have been put on a Motunau Beach Resident’s Association project to renourish the cliff face at the beach settlement while a resource consent is sought from Environment Canterbury for the job.
A halt was put on the project earlier this year when rocks began being stockpiled in preparation to protect properties.
