Leaky winners won't get $4m

Leaky home victims from a complex of 26 townhouses in Ellerslie might have been awarded $4 million by the High Court this week, but it is unlikely any of the owners will be getting a cent.

Project management company Tony Tay and Associates (TTA), and builder Robin Frank Sears, were ordered by Justice John Priestley to pay costs for remedial work at Ellerslie Gardens complex on Harrison Rd.

This included $1,456,704.86 to the Body Corporate, $2,583,419.22 to individual apartment owners and sums of up to $25,025 to owners for lost rental and costs for seeking alternative accommodation whilst repairs are carried out.

"Our company is in the hands of the liquidators, and does not have the financial resources or means to meet any of the payments to either the owners or the Body Corporate," said architect Tony Tay, director of TTA.

The Body Corporate and homeowners also sued Tay in his personal capacity as architect, but failed in their cause of action.

Tay said his company, which had been responsible for monitoring and supervising the construction of the complex between 1996 and 1997, ceased trading three years ago.

"I have lost millions through the company, and hundreds of creditors are still owed huge sums of money."

Justice Priestley said defects at the complex included cracking on cement and claddings, attributed possibly to poor workmanship and moisture, poor installation of control joints, inadequate flashings and moisture entry into timber frames.

"Unfortunately the construction of the Ellerslie Gardens units was defective," he wrote in his judgment.

"As a result, by late 2002 various units were experiencing leaks. In common with other New Zealand buildings suffering from 'leaky building syndrome' the leaks have led to rotting timber, health hazards and a clear need to reconstruct parts of the building to make units reasonably habitable."

The total estimated cost for remedial work was $4,507,759.

A homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said he was happy with the High Court decision but angry at the likelihood he will not be getting anything.

"We may have won but still we lost, because we will still be faced with a hefty legal bill," he said.

"We still have to fork out more money to correct the defects if we want to continue living here."