'We're treated as criminals'

Leanne Clifton sold her home. Photo / Tim Cuff

Leaky home victims are still facing massive legal bills and repair costs years after selling their properties.

One couple said they'd been treated like criminals after selling a renovated home nine years ago, which they were unaware was leaky.

They may now face paying up to $160,000 for repairs.

The couple - who can't be named because their case is under mediation - said they had "complete sympathy" with the buyer of their Auckland home.

"But as homeowners, I don't know what else we could have done," the woman said.

"We don't know about the right plaster mix, or slope of the roof," the woman said.

The house was renovated in 1996 before being sold in 2000. During the work it was checked 12 times by a council building inspector and given a code of compliance certificate.

But when the work was later found to be faulty, the former owners were held liable for most of the repair cost.

"We've been treated as criminals," she said.

"We truly feel we have done nothing wrong and yet we are the ones being severely punished with no recourse from the government."

The couple can't bring a claim against the builder or local authority through the Weathertight Homes Tribunal, because they no longer own the house.

Taking action through the courts would add substantial extra cost.

The couple wrote to Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson asking what more they should have done to ensure the work was up to standard, but received no response.

John Gray, Home Owners and Buyers Association president, has petitioned for owners who sell their home to be covered by the Weathertight Homes Tribunal.

Currently, those who are forced to sell because of financial strife can't pursue compensation under the tribunal.

Last week the Herald on Sunday revealed three leaky homeowners had taken their lives, while dozens more were on suicide watch.

The Government has called for a review of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service and a report into the crisis.

Williamson wouldn't comment while the work was under way.

Emotional cost of repairs

Leanne Clifton sold her leaky apartment two years ago, but still hasn't left behind the bills, stress and heartache.

"It took all my life savings and I've gone from being a homeowner to a renter," she said. "I can't see how I'm going to afford to buy a home again."

And the property's new owners, a retired couple who thought the leaky problems were settled, also face hefty repair bills.

Clifton, 40, bought the apartment for $265,000 five years ago, only to discover a few months later that it was leaky. She was forced to sell it to pay repair bills of $75,000.

Under the contract the new owner would be liable for any further work. Since then the cost to fix the block of 28 apartments has more than doubled from $1.8 million to $4.5m.

Clifton spent $20,000 on court action against the vendor who sold her the flat, but failed to prove they knew about the faults.

She is a party to a case against the local authority and architect, and is struggling to pay her share of the legal bills, at $10,000 and climbing.

Now based in Nelson, "partly to get away from ever having to see the building", she said the stress had taken its toll.

"My partner and I want to have a family. I've had one miscarriage which I attribute partly to being stressed, and we haven't been able to get pregnant again."

The new owners were reluctant to speak as the case was going to mediation.