KEY POINTS:
When Herbert Starik and his wife Jan moved to New Zealand in 1996, they bought what they thought would be their dream home on Auckland's North Shore.
Twelve years on, their lives are "paralysed' by the leaky building crisis.
Five years after buying the house, they noticed leaks and cracks in an interior wall under a balcony. They are facing a bill between $57,000 and $70,000 to fix the problem, which they blame on the use of the now-notorious monolithic cladding.
Starik, a former real estate agent forced out of the industry by the property slump, says the house is hard to sell because people are wary of anything that looks like a leaky home.
"We bought a house for half a million and now it's probably worth nothing," he said.
When the Herald on Sunday visited yesterday, he pointed out hundreds of homes built in a similar fashion. "Every third house has a problem."
He spoke of friends who were facing a repair bill of $100,000, only to see it soar to $400,000, and knew of another person who had to demolish their home.
An Otago University report commissioned by the Auckland, Waitakere and Wellington city councils last year estimated repairs could cost the economy $4.5 billion.
That was based on the problem affecting 30,000 homes - but Homeowners and Buyers Association president John Gray said the crisis could affect up to 80,000.
Gray was a victim of a leaky home before becoming an advocate for thousands of fellow sufferers. He didn't know there was anything wrong with the home he bought in Auckland's Ponsonby in 1996 "until a shower fell through the ceiling".
Gray said further inspection uncovered walls full of "soggy insulation"and joists which were half-rotted from the outside.
"Within two to three years that side of the house would have suffered structural collapse."
It resulted in him starting the Leaky Homes Action Group. As president of the Homeowners and Buyers Association, he represents about 2000 fellow victims.
He defended the Weathertight Homes Tribunal process after representing himself and several neighbours and "winning handsomely". But he said vulnerable people were being bullied into accepting poor deals by lawyers. He described being caught in a leaky home crisis as "horrendous".
"It's vile. I'm a tough bugger, but I was rocked to the core. I had totally lost my security with this. It affects mental and physical health, people have had heart attacks and strokes, all brought on by stress."
Tracey Palmer bought her central Auckland apartment in 2006 and the first signs of leaks became evident a year later. She is facing a repair bill of tens of thousands of dollars and other people in her building have similar problems.
She said the Government could offer practical solutions such as interest-free loans and working with councils to fast-track consents for repairs. "There's a general acceptance that there is a problem, but little appreciation for the impact it has on ordinary Kiwis."
Palmer said the experience had been "extremely stressful" for her and her neighbours.
"We spent the first few months terrified of what this prognosis might mean, particularly from a financial perspective.
"The rebuilding took 10 months and was, quite frankly, a dreadful experience. Our homes were surrounded by scaffolding, blocking all our light, and impacting on our privacy [and our neighbours as well].
"We had numerous workers on site six days a week, constant noise from 7.30am each day, an irremovable coating of dust over everything, no use of our car parks and constant mess."
Palmer remembered getting home late one Friday and bursting into tears after finding all the furniture in her lounge and bedroom pushed into the middle of the room.
There were huge holes around her doors and windows where they'd been tacked into place that day and curtains had been removed.
She said the residents had employed a specialist legal firm in a bid to recover money spent on repairs and are awaiting a hearing.
Herbert Starik said the Government should bear at least part of the responsibility. "The question is, how did monolithic cladding get accepted? It was a Government agency - I don't know who in Wellington allowed this.
"If the Government screwed up, they are responsible. But they are scared because they know what the issues are."
Have you been affected by the leaky homes crisis? Email cliff.taylor@ heraldonsunday.co.nz.
