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An owner in Auckland’s six-level 90-unit Kingsland Apartments complex said he was “shocked” to get a $36.6 million minimum bill to fix or $82.9m to demolition and rebuild.
A $36m option as the cheapest, put as a likely case and would include replacement of window joinery, deck membranes and tiles, and visually inspected steel;
The more extensive $66.6m, put as a possible case and would include full roof replacement, new structural steel on walkways, and more fire protection;
The $82.9m option for demolition and to rebuild the same number of units and area of building.
The Kingsland Apartments in Auckland. Owners have been presented with some costly options for repairs.
Thewhite building with balconies and basement car parking fronts New North Rd and has a rear entrance at 11 Kingsland Tce.
Members of Body Corporate 363704 met on October 22 to discuss remedial options.
Owners of two-bedroom apartments would pay $350,000 each for the first option, $643,000 for the second or $800,000 for the third, according to the information pack presented by Body Corporate Services of Albany, which listed Warren Chapman as the client advisor and Bayleys’ Cameron Mehuish and James Were as attending the meeting.
The Kingsland Apartments in Auckland, where owners were presented with various remedial work options on October 22, 2024.
Andrew Sweeney of ASJ property and construction consultancy also attended. ASJ estimated remediation costs.
Issues were identified and listed in an information pack as:
Level two breezeway: moisture ingress and facade damage (six apartments);
Fire alarm system replacement/passive fire issues;
Repairs to the southeastern staircase needed;
Walkway cleat rectification and associated surface treatment needed;
Podium-level membrane leaks;
External balconies: confirmation of waterproofing failure, the majority require surface treatment and structural upgrade works;
New North Rd canopy steel remediation;
Cladding: water damage on the existing timber substructure, insulation and internal linings where the existing walkway structures penetrate the facades at the entry to all apartments for all buildings in the complex;
Walkway connection issues;
Seismic separation of all the apartment walkway structural steel components for each building.
An investigation was conducted to understand the risks associated with the breezeway work, focusing on the junctions between levels two and three. Some cladding was exposed and there was evidence of water ingress.
Risks were found on walkways between the New North Rd side and the middle building: “If the buildings moved in different directions in an earthquake, the walkways could potentially collapse.”
Investigations into work to the breezeways of the Kingsland Apartments property in Auckland revealed a number of problems.
A November 24 update said a building consent would be sought to fix walkway issues.
“As a guideline, the quantity surveyor estimate in the likely scenario for the walkway work was estimated at $1.9 million,” owners were told.
Apartment owners could not claim compensation for any remediation.
“The legal advice to date has been that ... we are beyond the 10-year limit to claim, so we have no recourse. The concept of latent defects, ie defects that were not known until investigations were carried out, is now being investigated with two legal firms – our lawyer Price Baker Berridge and Grimshaws – to see what, if any, options are available on this basis,” the November 24 letter said.
A December 24 update to owners said consent to fix the walkways had been sought and it confirmed advice from the two law firms that no money would be available to owners to compensate them for the costs they faced.
An independent project management company would be engaged to review the costings released in October.
Some owners are trying to quit: “We are aware that at least one apartment has been sold recently in the building at a very low price,” said the December 24 letter from body corporate chair Raewyn Holmes and Garth Freeman of Body Corporate Services.
An extraordinary meeting would be needed for any decisions to be made on apartments’ building remediation. That would be in this year’s first quarter at the earliest, the letter said.
Consent could then be applied for, via the High Court, under section 74 of the Unit Titles Act. That alone would cost $22,000 to $24,000, owners were told.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
