The Department of Building and Housing's Weathertight Homes Resolution Service had received 5983 claims for 7683 properties by March 31 this year and completed assessments for 7963 properties.Of the active claims, 90 are being assessed for eligibility; 42
The Department of Building and Housing’s Weathertight Homes Resolution Service had received 5983 claims for 7683 properties by March 31 this year and completed assessments for 7963 properties.
Of the active claims, 90 are being assessed for eligibility; 422 are awaiting claimant decision and 1295 claims pursuing resolution.
Of the claims pursuing resolution 425 have the claimant pursuing repaiors, 482 are in alternative jurisdictions ( from the service), while 388 are going through the resolution process under the Weathertight Homes Act.
Broken down by local body district, claims in the Auckland City Council area total 1930, the highest; followed by 433 in the North Shore District Council area; 357 in the Waitakere District Council area and 356 in the Wellington City Council area.
Many area have seen no claims.
Meanwhile, Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said last week that a package might be announced soon to help owners of leaky homes.
The minister said an assistance package for consideration by the cabinet was almost complete, with the big issue the specification of repairs required to make homes waterproof.
Mr Williamson said voters will not thank the government if billions of dollars of public money was wasted on grotesquely over-priced.
But a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested the issue might be much bigger than the $11 billion worth of damage already identified, he says.
Mr Williamson told the conference the burden of responsibility for making sure new buildings met all the required specifications is weighing too heavily on city and district councils.
The minister said the building consent process needed changing to reflect the risk; builders needed to take more responsibility for their work; and consumers needed better information.
As part of that, the government has released a discussion document outlining proposals for amending the Building Act.
Mr Williamson said the discussion document and consultation were part of the Better Building Blueprint, a series of measures that would make it easier and cheaper for New Zealanders to build good quality homes.
“We want to make sure we get the right balance between risk, regulation and skills and this consultation will help us do that.”
The key proposal include:
• lowest risk building work, such as a basic shed or a low deck, would not need consent;
• low risk building work, such as a simple house, would go through a quicker, simpler consenting process;
• high risk, more complex houses would continue to go through the current approval and inspection process;
• complex, major commercial building work would go through a simpler process than it currently does, recognising the experience and skills of the professionals involved;
• building professionals and trades people would take more responsibility for making sure their work meets Building Code requirements. Licensing of builders will identify those with the relevant skills; and
• homeowners would be better equipped to hold builders to account, with mandatory written contracts.
This article first appeared in NBR NZ Property Investor.
