A further 1600 homes in Christchurch's Port Hills area have been rezoned from white to green.
The announcement was made by the Government this afternoon.
The decision means green-zoned homeowners will be able to get on with rebuilding and repairing their homes if they were damaged in the earthquakes that hit Christchurch in September 2010 and February 22.
Homeowners will be able to clarify their new zoning from Tuesday on the Landcheck website and letters will be sent to affected residents by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA).
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said today's decision brings the number of green-zoned homes in the Port Hills area to more than 11,300.
"There are still around 2100 homes that remain in the white zone in the Port Hills areas.
"Working with the Christchurch City Council and EQC to rezone these properties and the around 900 properties still in the orange zone on the flats remains CERA's highest priority," says Mr Brownlee.
"I appreciate the incredible frustration these homeowners will be experiencing and I want to assure them we are working hard to get some certainty for them as quickly as possible."
NZN