Leaky home crisis a billion-dollar problem

The leaky home crisis could be far worse than first imagined.

At a meeting in Auckland's Mt Eden yesterday, around 200 owners of leaky homes were told by National's Nick Smith that about 10,000 homes could be affected by the crisis.*

"That makes it a billion-dollar problem for New Zealand that can't be swept under the carpet," said Mr Smith.

He said the National Weathertight Homes Resolution Service was not working and that of the 3000 claims lodged in the past two years, only around 10 per cent were resolved.

He said that each month an average of 80 new claims were lodged with an average of eight resolved.

"At that rate we'll get through the cases currently lodged in 2025."

Mr Smith said a National government would speed up the process and allow owners to recover legal costs.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY


* An earlier version of this story said 10,000 homes was 7,000 more than a National Weathertight Homes Resolution Service estimate. The service says it has made no such estimate as it is a resolution, not a surveying, organisation.