Tauranga's mayor never wants to have to face heart-wrenching stories like those from the Bella Vista homeowners, again.

The city council has agreed to buy the 21 properties from the failed development, after owners were evacuated in March as the properties were deemed too dangerous to live in.

Mayor Greg Brownless told Mike Hosking it was heartbreaking to hear about the impact.

"Their home is their castle and then getting into them, then having to get out because of the dangerous building issues, then not knowing who was going to be responsible and potentially losing that whole asset, well you can just understand how that would feel."

One of those owners who shared her story was Jenny Coffey.

"It was really hard putting our stories out there for everybody to know our business, but it was really really nice to actually be heard."

LISTEN ABOVE AS GREG BROWNLESS  AND JENNY COFFEY TALK TO MIKE HOSKING