Frustration continues for homeowners on the Sunshine Coast who have undergone a years-long nightmare involving their properties.
Residents of 14 properties in the Seawatch subdivision were forced to evacuate their homes in February 2019, when erosion and sinkholes rendered the subdivision unsafe for habitation prompting a state of local emergency.
The state of emergency was finally lifted in 2022, but residents have been unable to return.
In the years since, the houses have been vandalized and their assessed value has dropped from about a million dollars to two dollars.
The District of Sechelt has denied responsibility for their plight and now they have learned the provincial government has shut the door on any chance of compensation.
When it comes to compensation, there is a distinct difference between actual damage and the threat of damage. These homes are considered threatened with damage, according to the province, and therefore are not eligible for compensation.
However, the homeowners said the province needs to step up and buy these homes.
“Some of our residents were able to buy other homes, but financially it’s drained them so much that there are two of my friends who are actually probably going to lose their homes in the next couple of months, and it’s criminal, it’s terrible to see this happen,” Seawatch homeowner Ed Pednaud told Global News.
“Many of us still have mortgages on the homes in the Seawatch subdivision, and we’re still paying them, and it’s ludicrous that we own this property, we can’t access it, we can’t have services to it.”