Housing NZ pensioner flats 'leaky, unsafe'

Housing New Zealand has been accused of failing to act on warnings that an apartment block leased for pensioner flats is unsafe.

The block of 32 apartments in West Auckland is leaky, cracking and structurally unsound, according to an engineer's report.

But Adrian Chitty, one of the apartment owners, said their pleas to move the tenants had met a "wall of silence."

"What we're after is for Housing New Zealand to accept there's a problem," he said.

Pepperwood Mews was built in 2004 and sold to private owners under a deal it would be leased to HNZ for pensioner housing.

Tenants said the flats were damp and leaky, and several had moved out because of health concerns with toxic mould.

Ron and Judy Adolph said water pooled in the corner of their ground-floor bedroom.

"At night I have to get the hair-dryer out and dry the carpet," Ron said. "All the skirting is rotten and the carpet has already been replaced once."

He said HNZ staff had taken photos of the damage, but nothing had been done.

Tenant Dawn Eynon had also reported water seeping into her bedroom floor many times. "Nobody has been to see," she said.

The owners yesterday released a list of the defects, including cracked cladding, missing window flashings, and water leaking through walls and ceilings.

A Weathertight Homes Resolution Service report put forward a $1 million solution - a second roof over the whole building.

But an engineer's report found the structure couldn't support it.

Chitty said the owners were unsure if there was any hope of fixing the building.

"The advice we've got is we won't find a builder who will want to come on site at all. We're at a pull it down and start again stage."

HNZ's general manager of assets, Kevin Mara, said it had no liability for the building, and played no role in design or construction.

"We have been concerned for some time about the state of the building, and the impact of problems with it on our tenants," he said.

Issues had been discussed with the owners and the worst-affected tenants moved out.