Leaky homes leading to ‘pure desperation’
Radio New Zealand
Phil Pennington, Reporter
19 September 2017
An increasing
number of people were only now learning their home was leaky, outside
the 10-year time limit to make a claim against the government or
council, North Shore real-estate agent Paul Lochore said. (file
photo) Photo: 123rf
Two Auckland businessmen have set out the plight of owners of leaky
homes, including a single mother who has been bankrupted and a man in
his 80s whose four sons have mortgaged their homes to help him.
North Shore real-estate agent Paul Lochore and building surveyor Terry
Henshaw describe the government response to leaky home owners as
heartless.
"If this was your family, your mother, your father, your brother, your
sister, would you let it continue, would you stand back and do
nothing," Mr Henshaw said.
He and Mr Lochore recently went with a group of Birkenhead homeowners
to plead for more help from Northcote's National Party MP Jonathan
Coleman.
The group included an 82-year-old man and his family.
"We had tears, we had one elderly gentleman who had his sons there, and
daughter-in-laws—they were having to mortgage their homes to put the
money together so dad could stay in his house," Mr Lochore said.
Seventeen of the households in the Kaihu Street townhouses have just
moved out so repairs, expected to take 10 months, can start.
Apart from the cost of rent and storage for their belongings, the homeowners face a $270,000-plus recladding bill.
But they are not eligible for any council or government help.
'Pure desperation'
Mr Henshaw said he personally knew of four people who had committed
suicide because of their leaky homes, including a close friend.
"All on the North Shore. One of them ... a personal friend, and the other three I've known of through the work that I do.
"You know, these people are put in this position because of pure desperation," Mr Henshaw said.
Mr Lochore said he was seeing an increasing number of people who were
only now learning their home was leaky and were outside the 10-year
time limit to make a claim against the government or council.
They faced having to pay up for repairs under body corporate rules.
"We've had four or five people have to sell their apartments because
they knew they were going to be sued [by the body corporate]. They
couldn't get finance to put up the $270,000.
"That's not the New Zealand way."
Mr Lochore said at the meeting with Dr Coleman he suggested the
government issue bonds or no-interest loans to fund repairs, which
people would repay when they sold their home.
He said Dr Coleman had referred him to Building Minister Nick Smith, and that he had received a form letter in response.
In a statement, Dr Smith said the government had contributed $73.16
million to repair leaky homes so far, with a further $22.49m approved
to be used under a six-year programme that had helped 4,000 households.
Dr Smith said support was extended in March 2016 to those who otherwise would have been unfairly excluded.
This, however, is for people who had already lodged claims.
Officials were due to report back next month on using the Welcome Home
Loan scheme for those struggling to raise mortgage finance for leaky
home repairs.
"This does not have the government paying the cost but means homeowners
can raise the finance to have their home repaired without losing it,"
Dr Smith said.
Dr Smith said he had looked into several cases, and in each case the
property had appreciated enough to allow people to do repairs and still
retain some equity.
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