When Nick Daking and his family came back from a holiday to find a small crack between their garage and their house, they had no idea what was to come.

Key points: Families living in Tasmania's West Tamar have been plagued by landslides and say they have seen their homes "literally fall away"

Families living in Tasmania's West Tamar have been plagued by landslides and say they have seen their homes "literally fall away" Local Upper House member Kerry Finch says landslides have occurred at the site, known as Brickmakers Point, for more than a century

Local Upper House member Kerry Finch says landslides have occurred at the site, known as Brickmakers Point, for more than a century He says homeowners were not made aware of the risks when development applications were approved

"Twelve weeks later it was on the ground," the businessman and local councillor from Launceston, in Tasmania's north, said.

"At the time we had our daughter who was four weeks old.

"We had to rip the kids out of school and go and find a place to live somewhere and we had to heavily rely on friends and family to get back on our feet."

The damage to Nick Daking's home has been a "massive financial strain". ( ABC News )

Mr Daking bought his family's property in Deviot, on the banks of the Tamar River, in 2014, and was never told the area was known for landslides — also known as landslips.

Heavy rain in 2016 caused part of the house to collapse and that section has since had to be demolished.

The Dakings are one of five Deviot families who are now seeking financial compensation from the Tasmanian Government and the West Tamar Council because of the landslides.

Nick Daking's house looked like this in 2014. ( Supplied: Nick Daking )

Mr Daking said it had been a "massive financial strain" for his family.

"You see your home literally fall away and you have to get the power cables cut down, the water turned off … you've probably seen $500,000 just float down the river," he said.

"Then your bank rings up and asks for your property to be re-valued because they're potentially worried about their security … to top it off, last week I got a rates notice."

That rates notice from the council was reversed after Mr Daking queried it.

The Lazenbys are living a similar "nightmare" watching their property fall apart.

They only built their house in 2011, but have since spent $350,000 repairing the damage — propping it up to stop it from collapsing.

Every time it rains, the damage gets worse.

Clare and Nigel Lazenby thought they had built their dream house, now they're struggling to keep it from collapsing. ( Supplied: Clare Lazenby )

"[In] the winter of 2013 we had extremely heavy rainfall and that precipitation caused massive cracks to start within our house, which we couldn't understand," Clare Lazenby said.

"It had all been architecturally and engineered correctly and to all the specifications the [West Tamar Council] had given us.

"We started to notice our front bedroom was beginning to drop.

"We were noticing our sliding doors wouldn't close and that was beginning of the whole thing.

Clare and Nigel Lazenby have spent $350,000 repairing the damage done to their house during heavy rains. ( Supplied: Clare Lazenby )

Mrs Lazenby said the ordeal had "been a nightmare".

"I would like the Government to understand the impacts on us — financially and emotionally and physically," she said.

"I had a fall on the landslip which caused me four breaks and smashed my head open.

"We live with the stress, we don't know when the next slip is going to be coming and it can come anytime.

"We need to go to bed and not stress."

'Significant risk was not recognised'

Kerry Finch, the Legislative Councillor for Rosevears, which takes in the West Tamar, has taken the concerns of Deviot residents to Tasmania's Upper House.

On Tuesday, Upper House members voted in support of a motion to urge the West Tamar Council and State Government to resolve the matter "as a priority" and provide "appropriate compensation for those properties seriously affected".

Mr Finch said landslides at the site, which is also known as Brickmakers Point, have occurred for more than a century, but neither the council, nor the State Government ever warned new homeowners of the risks, despite approving new building applications.

The cracked ground under the Lazenbys' home has been filled with grout. ( Supplied: Clare Lazenby )

"I feel that with mistakes that have been made in the past by planners, there is a responsibility to look after these people," he said.

He said the building planning maps for Deviot were not right.

"The significant landslide risk that existed was not recognised," Mr Finch said.

"This mistake was largely responsible for the surprise experienced by residents at the time of the 2016 slip and the damage that it brought to their homes."

He said both state and local governments had been "asleep at the wheel" and had "a case to answer".

Landslide report due next week

The West Tamar Council has recently spent $150,000 on a report looking at the cause of the Deviot landslides.

The region's Mayor Christina Holmdahl said that report will be tabled to the council on August 20.

Legislative Councillor Kerry Finch says there have been landslides in the area for more than a century. ( Supplied: Nick Daking )

"The report that will be going to council will primarily be about the causational factors that brought on the landslip and how those causes can be mitigated for people," Ms Holmdahl said.

"Financial assistance was not a part of this report … that will be a separate project once this report has been passed onto the State Government."

The council is expected to endorse the landslip mitigation report before it's passed on to the State Government.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the Government had been working with the council and "looking at options".

When asked about possible compensation he said he did not want to "rule anything in or out at this stage".