Certification setback sinks seller's hopes

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Simon Wong's hopes of selling his new house for a tidy profit have crumpled in the face of a building certification bombshell dropped by the Auckland City Council.

The Auckland banker has a buyer signed up for his five-bedroom house in the eastern suburbs.

But the $700,000 deal is caught up in a change of heart by the council as to how it approves and inspects houses which use monolithic cladding.

Geoff Wong, representing his brother Simon, said the council issued a building consent for the house in October last year.

The only weathertightness conditions in the consent were that timber framing be treated to H3 standard and that a registered solid plasterer be used.

The council inspected and approved the house at stages during the building.

But when the final stage came at the end of last month and Mr Wong was expecting the all clear, the council refused to issue a building code compliance certificate.

Mr Wong was told that the council would not issue the certificate because the house was not built with a cavity system in its outer walls.

Instead, it had used a James Hardie product - the Monotek system.

Mr Wong said his brother was shocked by the council's demand, because he understood the Monotek system was widely used and came with a 50-year guarantee.

While the house was being built, Mr Wong had decided not to move in but to sell it to take a capital gain.

The buyer had now put off settlement.

"But given there is no certificate we think the buyer will walk away - leaving my brother subject to penalty charges and potential damages from the buyer."

Mr Wong said he hoped for a quick remedy from the council in conjunction with James Hardie and the Building Industry Authority.

"From our view, we cannot knock down the house and make it with a cavity system."

Council customer services director Paul Sonderer said the Wongs could apply to the Building Industry Authority to decide whether the building was code compliant.

The council is required to act on that advice.

Last December, the council became the first local authority to require a cavity and other technical improvements for buildings using monolithic claddings, which had shown a high risk of leaking.

But the council now says all buildings using monolithic cladding need the same technical improvements.

This applies to all completed but uncertified buildings as well as those yet to start construction or currently under construction as part of the inspection process.

The council said high-risk buildings had a "Mediterranean" appearance of plaster and adobe finishes.