Council pays its part in ruling on leaky buildings

The seven owners in the Ponsonby Garden townhouse complex awarded $700,000 in a landmark leaky building ruling face a further wait for compensation after appeals were lodged by the site manager, project manager and architect.

But the Auckland City Council has decided not to appeal and is about to pay its fine of $120,000.

Site manager Steve Lay, who was fined $243,000, project manager Bruce Christian, who was fined $138,000, and architect Peter Townsend, who was fined $51,000, have appealed against the ruling by adjudicator Tony Dean.

John Gray, a spokesman for the complainants, said the appeals would drag out the matter of compensation.

Leaks began to show in the Ponsonby Gardens townhouse complex within two years of construction in 1996. The owners had the townhouses stripped, reclad and extensively repaired at their own expense, each paying between $80,000 and $100,000 in repairs and fees.

Mr Dean found the property developer Tim Manning not personally liable for the leaks because he had not "worked at the coalface" on Ponsonby Gardens.

Instead, Mr Lay and Mr Christian, employed by Mr Manning's Taradale Properties, were found liable for more than half the award.

In a new ruling, Mr Dean has ordered the council to pay an extra $12,000 in costs to the Building Industry Authority.