$1m to fix unit leaks at Albany

By ANNE GIBSON

The lack of rain in the middle of summer has not dampened the enthusiasm of a group of Auckland residents keen to find their way out of weathertightness problems.

Residents of the 105-unit Grange at 92 Bush Rd, Albany, have been enjoying a dry summer, but they know that come winter their problems will return.

So owners of the condominium-style housing project developed by a company associated with Auckland's Taradale Properties have banded together to look at their options.

Owners' committee chairman Mike Jordan estimates repairs to the leaky, defective units will cost about $1 million and says although not all units have problems, the vast majority do. A detailed report is being prepared by a building inspector.

Attempts to resolve matters of the past two years came to little, so the owners have sought the opinion of a top lawyer to examine their chances of getting money or having their units fixed.

Jordan said owners had not decided on the next step.

"The legal opinion has been parked in the meantime," he said.

Howard Keyte, QC, has charged the owners $19,290 for the legal opinion, but told them they would be up for $470,000 if they took the issue to court.

"Of course, it is possible that a suitable settlement can be entered before the hearing takes place," he said. "A large portion of these costs would then be avoided."

Taradale founder Tim Manning said he was working with unit owners at The Grange to resolve the situation.

"Some units leak and some don't. I'm passionate about my business and I'm not lily white, but with The Grange I've stuck with them and go to meetings.

"They get emotional and most other developers would not give a damn but I'm doing what I can," Manning said.

He said it was "crazy" for unit owners to spend so much money on the report. Solutions to weathertightness problems were being sought.

He had "no idea" what the solution might be but the owners were now getting a more detailed report on leaks.

"The good thing is most of the contractors like the engineers and architect are still in business and it is a matter of sitting down with all the people - including North Shore City Council - and working out what to do," Manning said.

Keyte wrote that The Grange had been marketed by entities which variously called themselves as Taradale Properties, Taradale Developments or the Taradale Group, even though when it came to sell the units, The Grange was the vendor appearing on the agreements for sale and purchase.

Keyte wrote that an Auckland street map book given to some Grange unit buyers promoted Tim Manning as having a "vision of affordable stylish housing" and having put Taradale "at the forefront of condominium design, construction and management".

But owners at The Grange soon had problems.

"Virtually immediately following settlement, some items of maintenance, non-completion and unsatisfactory workmanship became apparent and were raised by owners," Keyte wrote.

"Some of these problems were fixed, others were not. Over a period of time, serious concerns about other observable defects arose."

Even though the issues were raised with Taradale, no remedial action was taken and eventually owners commissioned building consultant Pat O'Hagen to investigate problems and report to the body corporate.

"He identified widespread failures which might be commonly described as leaky building syndrome," Keyte wrote.

Repairs would be "very substantial" and very likely involve modifications to the original design.

The company that sold the units, The Grange, breached a provision in the agreement for sale and purchase which stated that the vendor had to complete the units in a "proper and workmanlike manner" and in accordance with plans, specifications and all statutory regulatory bylaws and requirements, Keyte wrote.

The Grange, whose sole director is Manning, had a $1000 paid-up capital and only two shareholders - Manning and Robert Parkinson.

The Grange did not comply with the Building Code to provide adequate resistance to moisture penetration and to prevent water that could cause undue dampness or damage to building elements, he wrote.

"There is no possibility the buildings of The Grange can survive for any substantial period without extensive reconstruction and major renovation of both parts of the outside fabric and interior elements," he wrote, citing O'Hagen's report.

The Grange had breached the Fair Trading Act and although people were told units would come with a Master Builders Guarantee, no such guarantee had been executed.

Yet buyers had been told they were getting into quality housing, Keyte wrote.

"The coloured brochure and the book of maps ... said The Grange offers an outstanding investment opportunity ... great amenities ... proudly developed by Taradale Properties. It is the overall impact - words, pictures and sketches - which together constitute conduct by Taradale which represented to potential purchasers that they would be buying good quality," Keyte wrote.

"As we now know, the result was very different. The buildings do not comply with the Building Act and Building Code. They are already deteriorating at an extremely fast rate. Very substantial and expensive repairs are needed. They cannot be said to be an outstanding investment opportunity."

Owners of The Grange had a "good claim" against North Shore City Council for breach of statutory duty and possibly also for negligence, Keyte wrote.

The council issued a building permit for construction, but O'Hagen found that specifications did not contain sufficient detail to ensure the weatherproofing system was adequate.

"It is plain and should have been plain to any professional properly monitoring the construction that, as built, The Grange did not comply," Keyte wrote.

The council issued a code of compliance certificate in March 2000 and it should have known by then about leaky building syndrome.

Keyte also recommended taking action against the independent building certifier who inspected the units for the council, but ruled out action against the Building Industry Authority, saying the Government would be unlikely to agree to pay compensation without long litigation ending at the Court of Appeal.

North Shore City Council's manager of major projects, Stefan Naude, said the report was only one person's opinion.

"We have no reason to question the credibility of the certification. We are happy with the way the development was processed, inspected and certified."


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