KEY POINTS:
An Auckland developer being sued for his role in the rotting homes scandal claims the Government is not taking its due responsibility.
Brian Gailer, who developed a large block of units on the North Shore, said homeowners and other victims of the leaky building fiasco should not be the only ones to pay.
The developer faces litigation from owners of the 10-unit Kilham Mews near Northcote's shopping centre.
When owners discovered leaks, they hired Grimshaw and Co to represent them in civil action against the developer and others.
The units received code compliance certificates when they were developed in 1998, Mr Gailer said. They were built in untreated timber, which was allowed at the time, but when water penetrated the claddings the block's framework began to rot.
Mr Gailer said North Shore City Council and others involved in the development were named in the case, which was yet to get to court. But he felt it was unfair that the Government had escaped litigation for its role so far.
"Who is responsible for setting the building codes and giving approval for the way materials were allowed to be used? It was the former Government body, the BIA [Building Industry Authority] - now replaced by the Department of Building and Housing," he said.
He also blamed the Building Research Association (Branz) for appraising products, saying it played a part in setting the rules and standards which allowed leaky homes to be built.
Mr Gailer has complained to a string of national and local government politicians about the BIA's role.
But court rulings have largely exonerated the BIA and Branz for their role in the disaster. The case cited by most judges is a ruling from the Court of Appeal on the multi-unit Sacramento at Botany Downs.
Two years ago, the court ruled the state organisation was too far removed from the day-to-day decisions which caused the leaky building catastrophe.
Mr Gailer is not alone in his view that the state should take a larger share of the blame.
In March, the Herald reported how owners of a large Ponsonby apartment complex were trying to drag the Government into their $3 million leaky building court claim, seeking to reverse case law which has so far allowed the state to escape any direct liability.
Residents of the 37-unit Siena Villas in Burgoyne St have applied to the Court of Appeal after the High Court rejected their claim against the BIA.
Building and Construction Minister Clayton Cosgrove said "the Government was not liable because it did not design, build or inspect leaky buildings".
"Those who are responsible for designing, building and signing off leaky homes as weathertight are liable, and should be held to account," he said.
"And those responsible are being held to account through the courts and the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, especially since the revamped service and the new Weathertight Homes Tribunal that started operating on April 2.
"The Government has introduced systemic changes designed to ensure the problems of the 1990s do not recur by making a major investment in improving building performance standards for the future and assisting territorial authorities to fulfil their roles.
"The key reforms include the introduction of occupational licensing, product certification, review of the Building Code, the new building consent authority regime and consumer awareness campaign."
