PM 'unwise' on house rot says leaks expert

By ANDREW LAXON and HELEN TUNNAH

The Prime Minister is wrong about the true extent of the leaky buildings crisis, says one of the country's most experienced leak investigators.

Building consultant Steve Alexander - whose firm Alexander & Co deals with hundreds of leaking and rotting homes - strongly disagreed yesterday with Helen Clark's claim that the seriousness of the situation seemed to be only a fraction of the "beat-up" portrayed in the Herald.

He said the problem was growing worse every month and it was only a matter of time before some owners had to leave their homes for their own safety.

"It's a huge problem and I think the Prime Minister was very, very unwise to make that statement.

"In terms of saying this is a beat-up and it's not nearly as big as has been claimed, [she] is just simply wrong.

"We seem to find worse cases by the month. Just when we think we've seen the worst of it, we see something worse again."

Helen Clark last night defended her comments, saying the Government fully recognised the seriousness of the issue for those affected by it.

"The point I was making was that coverage in the New Zealand Herald has tended to magnify its extent.

"As of Thursday, November 21, a total of 1062 people had called the toll-free number for people affected by leaky building problems. A total of 358 had registered with the assessment service by that date.

"Public comments from major city councils like Manukau, Tauranga and North Shore suggest that of the many permits issued by their councils, very few have resulted in complaints of leaky buildings."

But Mr Alexander said the Government's hotline should not be considered an adequate reflection of the problem as many leaky home owners did not use it.

One call could also represent a complex of 100 units.

A man whose family have been told they may have to demolish their $1.4 million, six-year-old central Auckland home because it is rotting so badly yesterday contacted the Herald.

He warned other new-home owners that his house had shown no signs of leaks, except for a small patch of damp around the front door.

But because of the Herald's extensive coverage on leaking homes, the family reluctantly decided to have the house inspected, only to find it was rotten throughout and riddled with toxic mould.

"What happens when others get the courage to have their homes properly checked?" he asked.

The man, who asked not to be named at this stage, said he was angry with Helen Clark questioning the extent of the crisis.

"They're getting away with this incredibly arrogant, dismissive stance.

"We can survive, we're lucky - we've got revenues. But we've basically had our whole asset base wiped out. I'm sure there are thousands of us out there.

"At best this will cost us $300,000. At worst we have had $800,000 of home value wiped off our property. Even if we stay and fix it, we will need to move our family and our businesses out for a period of at least six or seven months."

National Party leader Bill English said the Prime Minister had shown her contempt for homeowners by accusing the Herald of "banging on about issues of no substance".

She had shown supreme arrogance in dismissing the concerns of qualified architects and professors and underestimating the size of the problem, just as Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins had done.

Helen Clark's own Mt Eden villa is surrounded by rotting home sites, including many that have not yet been made public.

One group of leaking townhouses is only a block away, problems are growing at a large multi-unit block close to her electorate office in Morningside and owners of a rotting multi-unit development in Balmoral are planning legal action.

Clark changes tack on leaky buildings

* If you have information about leaking buildings,
email the Herald or fax (09) 373-6421.

Herald feature: Leaky buildings

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