KEY POINTS:
A new organisation is being launched to fight for home owners' rights, aiming to be to householders what the Automobile Association is to car owners and drivers.
John Gray of the Leaky Homes Action Group said a new association was being formed to represent all homeowners.
"This has been borne out of the action group but it will represent the broader interests of home owners and buyers," he said.
It would fight to protect consumers, provide them with advisory services at a discount and give them a powerful voice. It also wants to enter commercial relationships with service providers and professionals to help homeowners.
With about 1.5 million residential homes in New Zealand, Mr Gray reckons the association might eventually get more than 500,000 members.
"But that will depend on the level of member benefits we are able to provide and that will be subject to the sort of sponsorship deals we are able to put in place," he said.
It might even launch a consumer card to give members discounts at accredited suppliers or for services deemed to meet certain minimum standards of customer service, experience and competency, he said.
Government money and sponsorship would initially be sought to get established by early next year.
"The long-term view is to have the association self sustaining from subscription, advertising and sponsorship revenues and being able to deliver significant membership benefits," he said.
Mr Gray praised the Consumers' Institute for its work in this area but said no organisation was dedicated solely to the needs of owners and buyers.
"There is no strong and unified entity advocating for these people, educating or supporting them, yet a house is most New Zealanders' single largest investment.
"In certain areas of home acquisition, ownership, building, renovating or selling, there appears to be a distinct lack of representation of the needs of the consumer," he said.
Members would pay a joining fee and get immediate benefits like cut-priced professional consultations, he said.
"They will get immediate access to a broad range of services and support options, along with many other benefits. For example, people wanting to buy a house would get access to independent buyer information and packages giving them guidance. The association would make recommendations about what services to engage and where they should go to get assistance in making a fully informed decision about buying their new home."
Engaging a building inspector for a pre-purchase assessment was like playing Russian roulette, Mr Gray said. But the new association would seek to ensure buyers were better served.
Sue Chetwin of the Consumers' Institute said she understood Mr Gray's concerns but thought he was being overly-optimistic in his target of 500,000 members. Many free websites provided much of the information he proposed, she said.
"Our own consumerbuild.org.nz is one of those free sites. The changes to the Real Estate Agents Act will also provide for more consumer information which will be of huge benefit to buyers and sellers.
"We'd like to think that Consumer does advocate on behalf of home owners and buyers. We have had nearly 50 years' experience in testing products and services to ensure they do meet standards so we'd like to have a chat with John about how we might work on this project together."
