KEY POINTS:
A migrant family are so disillusioned with their big house in the Auckland suburb of Lynfield that they are demolishing it.
The large 1980s seaside place had many defects and faults, including leaks.
The family came here from Taiwan last decade but are so disheartened after years of enduring the house that they have decided to start again.
The owners said it was simply easier to rebuild and they did not want to be named or have their address listed.
The 255sq m house was badly designed, wet and cold, they said. Problems were so widespread that it was not even worth removing the house from the site for resale.
They are now having the house knocked down and commissioned Jennian Homes to design and build them a new place for about $500,000.
They said none of their windows had flashings to keep out rain. Nor were the walls insulated, which meant the place was freezing.
The house was oriented towards the seaward side and the prevailing weather so water came into the lounge and the largest bedroom through windows.
But because the house was built in the 1980s, the family had no legal redress via the state-funded system which helps leaky-home owners.
The house was not eligible for a weathertightness assessment or claim.
The Government bans owners of houses built more than a decade ago from using its leaky building service, which offers free house inspections, written reports on defects and dispute negotiation, mediation or adjudication to resolve problems.
"It was not built very nicely," said one of the house's residents yesterday, adding that her family did not initially know enough about the system to commission a building inspector's report before they bought it in the 1990s.
"We ... just thought it was a nice area," she said. It was only when a family member met a builder that they discovered the extent of the problem.
QV has the house listed as being worth $600,000: $310,000 for the house and $290,000 for the large site.
The family liked the street, which has extensive waterfront views and is surrounded by domains and reserves.
"It's a flash street but if you looked at the house previously, it doesn't match up to the standard of the rest of the street," the family member said.
The Weathertight Homes Tribunal, established last year, made 13 decisions this year.
All are posted on its website www.justice.govt.nz/wht/home.asp
Leaky building victims wanting to use the system must first apply to the Department of Building and Housing to have a house or apartment assessed and a decision made about the eligibility of a claim.
