When the leaky homes crisis surfaced a few years ago, it was quickly dismissed as a ‘sporadic phenomenon’ needing little attention. The general belief was that there would always be a problem of poor quality as an exemption to the general rule of high standards of construction.
But soon it became a crisis and despite all-round efforts, leaky homes continue to be a problem. It seems to have worsened this winter.
Health problems
We carry two articles, both from Labour MPs in this issue. Manukau East MP Jenny Salesa has written to say that her office has received more than 60 cases in less than two weeks and that many of the families live in cold, leaking and damp houses causing health problems. According to her, there were also complaints of homes being invaded by mould, mice, rats and cockroaches. Almost all them suffered from poor maintenance.
Mt Albert MP David Shearer has called for a full warrant of fitness system that will ensure every rental property is dry, warm and healthy, with basic essentials like a kitchen and bathroom. “We need to demand the best for the health of our children and it will save the country money,” he said.
Legal crisis
The leaky homes crisis is an ongoing construction and legal crisis in a number of timber framed buildings constructed during the years 1994 and 2004 that suffered from weather-lightness problems. The issues have primarily manifested themselves in decay to timber framing, which in extreme cases made buildings structurally unsound.
Some buildings became unhealthy to live in due to mould and spores which developed within the damp timber framing. The repairs and replacement cost that could have been avoided were estimated in 2009 to be approximately $11.3 billion.
Energy problems
Apart from leaky homes, poor insulation has also resulted in high energy costs, which most tenants can ill-afford. There is therefore an urgent need, among other things, to improve energy efficiency in households.
Heating takes up 60% of the total power used by households, and much of this energy goes to waste as well. New rules require new houses to be much more energy-efficient. However, a low rate of homebuilding means that it will take many decades for these improvements to percolate through the housing stock.
If homes are to be made less leaky soon, existing ones will have to be tackled. That should be easy since homeowners have good financial reason to reduce their energy use.
There is no quick fix to the problem, but not doing anything is no option at all.
