Tribunal delay angers leaky-home victims

Margaret and Joseph Chee face another cold winter in their home. They are seeking $443,000 for it to be fully reclad. Photo / Natalie Slade

Two leaky-home victims will have to endure another winter in their flat after their case was delayed from May to September.

Margaret and Joseph Chee, with a two-storey monolithic-clad Bucklands Beach dwelling, were to get a decision from the Government's Weathertight Homes Tribunal by May 21.

But the tribunal has told them that because not everyone can attend, they will have to wait until the end of winter. The tribunal says it knows is too long but it can do nothing about it.

Mr Chee said this was unfair. The law said they should have to wait only 35 days for a decision after April 1 when the High Court directed the tribunal to rehear their case.

"It's more stress, sleepless nights, more leaking and more damage to the house. The undue delay is most unfair to us and only serves to aggravate our extreme stress, anxiety and countless sleepless nights resulting from being innocent victims of the leaky-home syndrome," Mr Chee said.

Initially, the tribunal awarded only $141,800 for limited "target repairs", although the Chees had claimed $443,115 for a full reclad.

The High Court ordered the tribunal to rehear the case because of a series of legal errors and failure to observe natural justice.

Tribunal chairwoman Trish McConnell issued an order this month admitting that the tribunal was overstepping the mark.

She acknowledged that the Chee case was due to be reheard within 35 days.

"I acknowledge that having to wait until September for a hearing is not acceptable to Mr Chee. I also acknowledge that this it outside the 35-day working timeframe envisaged by the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006.

"Unfortunately, given the circumstances of this act, there appears to be no other viable option due to unavailability of experts, counsel or parties. The hearing dates of September 13-15 are accordingly confirmed," Ms McConnell wrote.

Mr Chee said his wife was deeply affected by the situation.

"We do not know how much longer or how much more of the injustices we can bear before something tragic happens," he said.

"Despite the tribunal being a creature of the act, it now refuses to be governed by it. The tribunal acknowledges our objection and the act but acts unfairly towards us by abusing its authority.

"The pressure of living in New Zealand as an immigrant is tremendous. To have the added pressure of being leaky-home owners and injustices heaped on us by the very system that is supposed to dispense justice is just unbearable.

"Does it take the fate of other leaky-home owners who have committed suicide and/or the recent Korean family [in Christchurch] where all members committed suicide for some justice to prevail?"