People receiving earthquake-relief grants are welcome to spend the money on items such as flat-screen television sets, the Red Cross says.

More than $14 million in donations and pledges has been received by the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal, including almost $600,000 from Tonga, and just over $2m has been handed out.

Three grants are available – up to $3000 for people forced from their home, a $1000 hardship grant and a $3000 grant for people living in houses that are uninhabitable or have no water or sewerage.

Applicants do not have to say what they need the money for or show what they spent it on.

Red Cross national programme manager David Neal said every application would be checked against council databases to make sure the property had been deemed unsafe or was without essential services.

He said the main reason for the grants was to help people get their lives back to normal, but they were also aimed at brightening the moods of those hardest hit.

People could spend the money on non-essential items. Red Cross grants tried to empower people and let them make their own decisions.

"Who are we to place judgment on how they spend the money to make their lives better?" he said. "If this family is going to feel happy to replace their 14-inch television with a 40-inch flat-screen, then who are we to argue with that? Every family should be able to make the decision that's best for them."

The Tongan Prime Minister's press secretary, Lopeti Senituli, said the Tongan donation had been given to the Red Cross on the understanding that it would be used wisely, but it was at the organisation's discretion.

"That's no concern of ours. If that is what the Red Cross criteria for allocation allows, then we have no problem with that."

Action for Christchurch East spokeswoman Angela Wasley said the grants should go directly to companies that could provide essential services to residents.

Calls could then be made direct to places such as moving companies, saving time.

"It's not so much handing people money – that doesn't help us ... It's not just about ticking boxes and handing out cash."

Wasley said homeowners needed grants more than those who rented.

Canterbury Earthquake Appeal Commission member Michael McEvedy said it was unfair to favour one group over another.

Many people who were renting were also at a disadvantage, and some who had been forced from their home were still paying rent as they had signed a contract, he said.