Homeowners at 88 addresses in the quake area have received compensation for the fall in value of their home, while according to the IMG they are not entitled to it. These are home owners whose old house is being demolished and newly built as part of the reinforcement operation.
List was incomplete
With a new house they already receive the compensation for the decrease in value, because the new house is usually worth more than the old house. But due to an error in the communication between the National Coordinator Groningen (NCG) and the Institute for Mining Damage Groningen, the residents were nevertheless paid money, because it was not clear that they were not entitled to it. The list provided by the NCG to the IMG was incomplete.
You have to be man enough and face the consequences of your mistakes
In total, the IMG has therefore paid out almost two million euros too much, chairman Bas Kortmann confirmed on Radio Noord. That equates to almost 23,000 euros per address.
At your own risk
‘The fact that you are working with someone else’s incomplete lists should be at your own risk and not at the risk of a resident,’ says Susan Top of the Gas Council. ‘I understand that you can think in terms of content that people are not entitled to it, but then you should have made that very clear at the front.’
That is not the case now, says Top. She is surprised that there is no formal arrangement in which everything is legally covered. ‘There is only information on their website, but the information on that website is constantly changing.’
‘I therefore call on them to simply make an arrangement for this. Because in the end you now place the problem with the resident, but I think you should be man enough and must face the consequences of your mistakes. ‘
Don’t blame you
The Groninger Bodem Beweging advises people concerned to contact a lawyer. Chairman Jelle van der Knoop also thinks that because there is no formal arrangement, residents could not simply have known that they are not entitled to compensation.
Another example of how people deal with people here. This just shouldn’t happen
‘If you have demolition and new construction, it does not say anywhere that you are not entitled to compensation for a decrease in value,’ says Van der Knoop. ‘Yes, as a resident you can ask yourself: am I entitled to this? But at the same time these people also receive a letter from the IMG stating that they can apply for the value reduction compensation. So you can’t blame them for doing that. ‘
‘It’s just another example of how people deal with people here. They receive thousands of euros and have to pay them back. This just shouldn’t happen. ‘
Top: ‘When the value reduction scheme started, the website did not yet state that you were not eligible for demolition and new construction. The question was simply not asked. ‘
Vulnerability of organizations
The fact that the cause of the error lies in the collaboration between the Institute for Mining Damage and the National Coordinator Groningen is also proof for Susan Top of something she has been saying for some time now: make sure you have an organization that tackles the problems integrally. Then residents do not have to deal with different organizations.
‘I think this is an example of the vulnerability of two split organizations.’
Also read:
– Astonishment in House of Representatives about repayment of quake money: ‘What an incredible mess’
– Earthquake bodies at fault; victims may have to repay thousands of euros
– Criticism of the depreciation scheme: ‘6,500 homeowners are better off with a different calculation model’
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