Ministry Of Defence Houses "Freezing"

This news item may be of interest to people thinking of emigrating to New Zealand and working for the NZ defence force. Defence housing appears to have exactly the same problems with lack of insulation, damp and heating that other homes have in New Zealand. The women decided to go public with their concerns because of a number of symptoms their families were suffering, including barking coughs, asthma, ear and chest infections and allergies suffered by young children:

From Stuff

Freezing Cold Houses anger RNZAF Mums
“Some of the women living at RNZAF Base Woodbourne are waging war with the Ministry of Defence over freezing temperatures in the houses where they are raising families.
Two partners of air-force servicemen said they were desperate for action after going through all the right channels and having their complaints ignored. One was so fed up she said she was leaving Marlborough to bring her family up in Christchurch, leaving her husband behind. Splitting the family was a last resort, but her children’s health came first, she said.

Air Force spokesman Squadron Leader Kavae Tamariki said military housing throughout New Zealand was in poor condition. “I understand where the Woodbourne women are coming from,” he said. Any complaints would be listened to if they went through the correct chain of command, he said...

...The complaints included homes with no insulation and no carpet, where fireplaces had been boarded up, damp crept up the walls, mould grew and window frames were rotten, with paint holding the glass in place. Heat escaped through gaps between the floorboards and around the windows. Water from a leaking roof ran down the walls of one house. Each home had a heat pump, but even with it on all day, one woman said they had to wear down jackets and scarves.

One woman had a power bill for June of more than $580"...read the full report here

For more about winter living conditions in New Zealand please read:
NZ’s High Winter Death Rate and Burning Wood to Keep Warm
“Most People Consider Hypothermia a Symptom of Being Cold, Rather an Expression of National Identity“
Leaky Homes
The Problems Migrants Encounter with Housing
Immigrants Caught in Cold Poverty Trap
$380 a Week Gets You What?
How to go to Bed New Zealand Style


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"The Woeful Quality Of New Zealand Homes Is Making Us Ill"

If you’re thinking about moving to New Zealand take a while to familiarise yourself with the problems and many challenges New Zealand’s poor quality housing may present to you, particularly if you have asthma or have children that suffer with it.

‘Toxic homes’ are a nightmare for many in New Zealand and immigrants fresh to the country are often seen as naive or easy targets and “stitched up” into buying a property afflicted with Leaky Home Syndrome. It can be very hard to spot one of these homes, outwardly it may may look attractive but withinits walls may lurk a problem that could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to put right and damage your health. And it’s not just the cheap, hastily erected properties that are affected, million dollar mansions are just as likely to leak like a sieve.

A Remuera real estate agent -Steve Koerber of Barfoot & Thompson- once admitted that migrants were particularly at risk because so many were unaware of the dangers of buying a New Zealand house:

“I have a big problem with the fact that hundreds of new immigrants and some locals are literally stitched up into potentially leaky or actually leaky homes. Their eyes are wide shut and some owners and agents are genuinely relieved to find them.” read more here

There’s an interesting feature article in the May 15-21 edition of the NZ Listener magazine (the full text of the article will be available on-line from June 5) that tells of the impact that the poor condition of some of the country’s houses is having on the health of the people who live in them.

Here’s the opening few paragraphs:

Sick as houses
by Sarah Barnett
“The woeful quality of many New Zealand homes is making us ill while sucking vast sums out of our wallets.
“Sitting in the back of the ambulance with her two-and-a-half-year-old son was the final straw for Stephanie Topham. She’d put Lucas to bed that night last December, only to have him wake up an hour later, struggling to breathe. The ambos told her he had the respiratory disease croup, and that Lucas needed steroids and a stay in hospital for observation. They noted that croup was unusual in the warmer months.
For the five months before that, while living in a damp, mouldy Papakura rental, Topham and Lucas had suffered one throat and chest infection after another. Lucas, who’d never been sick before they moved there in June last year, was diagnosed with asthma. His croup was the last straw: “We moved out of the house a week and a half after that. I was so glad to see the back of the place.”

New Zealand Homes Compared to Refuge Camp Huts
We’ve blogged many times about NZ’s leaky homes problem and the considerable effects it has on their occupants’ wealth and health.

According to a health expert 3 out of 4 homes in some regions of New Zealand were so cold, damp and mouldy that they were on a par with refugee camp huts….

The Dominion Post December 2008
by Ruth Hill
“At a workshop in Wellington yesterday on the health effects of leaky buildings, Associate Professor Jeroen Douwes of Massey University cited a 2005 study, which found mould in 75 per cent of the 1310 households surveyed.
“This is comparable to a study of Palestinian refugee camps, where the rate was 78 per cent.”
Nationally, about 35 per cent of New Zealand households report mould in one or more rooms, compared with 18 per cent in Europe.
A survey by Otago University public health researchers of 33 peer-reviewed studies found exposure to damp and mould raised the risk for respiratory problems -wheezing, coughing and asthma – by 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
Conservative estimates put the direct health costs of leaky buildings in New Zealand at $61 million a year.
Public awareness of respiratory problems associated with damp houses remained low, he said.
“This issue affects potentially tens of millions of people worldwide, and there is a big case for more interventions and research.”
University of Otago public health researcher Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, who chaired the workshop, said New Zealand’s high asthma rate could well be related to the incidence of damp houses.
Up to one in five New Zealanders suffer the chronic and sometimes life-threatening respiratory condition. Wellington’s Asthma Research Group has found that asthmatics allergic to mould had much more severe symptoms, and were almost twice as likely to end up in intensive care….”

The actual cost of this ‘Leaky Building’ epidemic is estimated to cost NZ$11 billion in repairs, according to the NZ Greens. This equates to about 10% of the country’s GDP. It is so high it could adversely effect the country’s credit rating.

And here’s some information you won’t see mentioned in those international quality of living surveys:

• 250,000 New Zealand homes are so damp, cold and poorly insulated that they ruin people’s health.

• The mental and physical costs of poor housing in New Zealand are $26 million a year.

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New Zealand's Toxic Homes Scandal

A Herald article today highlighted the reality of the ‘cheap’ housing often bought by unwary homeowners and newcomers in New Zealand. It tells the story of a Malaysian couple who purchased a property in Buckland’s Beach, an affluent area in South Auckland that’s popular with immigrants from a number of countries.

Mr Chee bought his monolithic clad property nine years ago so that he and his family could make a new start in New Zealand. The house has been afflicted with leaky building syndrome. This is a caused by a weather tightness defect that allows water to leak into the structure of a building and rot the wooden frame, causing extensive structural damage and the growth of fungus that produces dangerous spores – Stachybotrys which is known to produce trichothecene mycotoxins including satratoxins.:

“…Mr Chee said the garage, living room and master bedroom areas now contained stachybotrys, a dangerous mould found in damp areas and linked to respiratory illnesses and infant deaths.
The 56-year-old watch salesman told the Herald that his family had been through extreme stress, anxiety and countless sleepless nights. He was on medication for high blood pressure.
“It is no wonder some victims have committed or attempted suicide.”
Mr Chee felt victimised and terribly let down by the Government-run Weathertight Homes Tribunal, which awarded only $141,800 for limited “target repairs”, when he had claimed $443,115 for a full reclad…”

One of the most common problems that migrants from developed countries encounter in New Zealand is the poor quality of the houses. Almost all of them are wooden framed and range from quaint old Kauri villas to brand new million dollar mansions and there are often problems associated with dampness, poor weather tightness (‘leaky building’) lack of adequate heating and poor insulation.

Unfortunately many migrants are unaware of the massive extent of the leaky building disaster in New Zealand, even though it has been very much in the news for the last few years. 

A recent estimate is that it will $11.5 billion dollars to repair all leaky homes in NZ, that’s approximately 10% of the country’s GDP. But the government actually stands to gain from those repairs because GST is charged on the work.

Stitched Up Migrants
In April of last year we picked up on another Herald report by Anne Gibson about another migrant family who unwittingly bought a leaky home nine years ago. ( see Leaky Homes Issues and ‘Stiched up’ Migrants) The White family were British immigrants who bought a house in Whangaparoa through a licensed real estate agent, Mrs White was keen to warn other migrants against being duped:

“Wilna White and her family are migrants who became leaky-building victims. After a nine-year struggle which is yet to end, she wants to warn other migrants of the dangers of buying a New Zealand house.
Paul and Wilna White lived in the English village of Barton-le-Clay outside Luton and worked in London, arriving here in December 2001.
The family loved Auckland’s beaches and bought a house at Whangaparaoa. They dealt with a licensed real estate agent.
Soon after buying, they discovered severe weather-tightness issues and the rot was so bad that a child fell part-way through an exterior deck.
The couple have fought for eight years to get compensation, claiming $475,000 in a Weathertight Homes Tribunal case. But earlier this year, they got just $173,000 and have appealed the decision.The tribunal awarded the Whites $121,000 from Lorelle Kerkin as the sole trustee of an estate that sold them the house at 6 Castaway Place, and $52,000 from Rodney District Council, which signed it off.
Mrs White said the past eight years had been a nightmare. She has been robbed of annual holidays because dealing with the leaky-house issue has taken up all her spare time.
Mrs White warned that migrants were in danger of being tricked.”

Has much changed  for migrants since the Whites arrived all those years ago? it would seem not, immigrants are still being seen as naive or easy targets and “stitched up” accordingly (also by Anne Gibson):

“Immigrants are being saddled with leaky homes, unwittingly buying into our national disaster, says a Remuera real estate agent.Steve Koerber of Barfoot & Thompson has pointed the finger at vendors and other real estate agents, saying there is a lack of information about houses.
John Gray of the Homeowners and Buyers Association agreed that some agents were reluctant to let potential buyers know of weather-tightness issues, but an agency boss has rejected criticism.
Bryan Thomson, Harcourts chief executive, said agents were upfront if they were made aware of leaks. But not all vendors told agents about leak issues, he said.
Mr Koerber said migrants were particularly at risk because so many were unaware of the dangers of buying a New Zealand house. “I have a big problem with the fact that hundreds of new immigrants and some locals are literally stitched up into potentially leaky or actually leaky homes. Their eyes are wide shut and some owners and agents are genuinely relieved to find them,” Mr Koerber said.”

We’re mindful of the current immigration campaign being targeted at countries like Singapore that is using the draw of “cheap houses” to attract skilled, cashed-up workers over to New Zealand:

“The bait was better working hours, cheaper cars and housing – and in three weeks thousands from Singapore have registered their interest in living in New Zealand.
An Immigration New Zealand pilot project aimed at attracting Singaporean migrants has resulted in over 1000 registrations each week since it was launched last month, with 3565 potential immigrants having registered their interest in just three weeks.
Would-be migrants are told of comparatively cheaper housing, car ownership and a relaxed lifestyle – and those who registered their interest on newzealandnow.govt.nz received an email from Immigration telling them how to apply for relevant visas.”

Caveat Emptor! when something looks too good to be true…  Just remember that $11.5 billion has to come from somewhere.

See also: Health ruined in Quarter of a Million NZ Homes: “A quarter of a million homes are so cold, damp and poorly built they are causing serious health problems.”

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Leaky Homes Issues And "Stiched Up" Migrants

One of the most common problems that migrants from developed countries encounter in New Zealand is the relatively poor condition of its houses. Almost all construction in NZ is of the wooden framed design (even those with a brick exterior) and it ranges from quaint old Kauri villas to brand new million dollar mansions. There are often problems associated with dampness, poor weather tightness ('leaky building') lack of adequate heating and poor insulation. New Zealand has rapidly gained a worldwide bad rep for shonky houses some of which may cost an unwary householder hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs, with little or no help either from the government or building companies and certifiers. See Telegraph UK article :  Owners of leaky homes in New Zealand struggle to pay for repairs-

"Owners of leaky houses in New Zealand are struggling to fund repairs to their rotting homes as controversy over the government's proposal to deal with the problem grows...

For those considering buying property in New Zealand, Glenn Slaughter, an estate agent in the country had some advice. "Any property that a purchaser is considering buying in New Zealand should be made subject to getting a building check from an approved building company," he said.
"They can also provide a moisture reading to make sure that the property is not above the acceptable level."He gave warning that many people had bought properties in haste, especially at auction, only to find out that they had purchased a leaky home.

"Some properties are able to be repaired but some have had to be pulled down. Unlike Britain, most New Zealand homes (even brick) are built over a timber framing. If moisture gets into this framing of the house it may be too late to repair and this is when the building itself becomes worthless," he said."Weather conditions and building practices are very different to the UK, and permanent material homes may be not be as permanent as English folk would expect."

If you are thinking about purchasing a property in New Zealand be sure to have a full and proper inspection carried out and make it a condition of the sale that the report be satisfactory. Do not, under any circumstances, take the selling agent's advice not to have one done and do NOT use someone that they recommend.

Unfortunately many migrants are unaware of the massive extent of the leaky building disaster in New Zealand, even though it has been very much in the news for the last few years. A recent estimate is that it would cost the country $11.5 billion dollars to repair all its leaky homes, that's approximately 10% of the country's GDP. Don't let a significant chunk of it come out of your pocket!

If you are emigrating to NZ and want to do some reading about this before you part with your cash take a look at reports here and look at devastating effects that it is having on the lives of so many people. This is the story of one British family who emigrated from Britain eight years ago and was recently published in the New Zealand Herald -by Anne Gibson:

"Wilna White and her family are migrants who became leaky-building victims.

After a nine-year struggle which is yet to end, she wants to warn other migrants of the dangers of buying a New Zealand house.

Paul and Wilna White lived in the English village of Barton-le-Clay outside Luton and worked in London, arriving here in December 2001.

The family loved Auckland's beaches and bought a house at Whangaparaoa. They dealt with a licensed real estate agent.

Soon after buying, they discovered severe weather-tightness issues and the rot was so bad that a child fell part-way through an exterior deck.

The couple have fought for eight years to get compensation, claiming $475,000 in a Weathertight Homes Tribunal case. But earlier this year, they got just $173,000 and have appealed the decision.The tribunal awarded the Whites $121,000 from Lorelle Kerkin as the sole trustee of an estate that sold them the house at 6 Castaway Place, and $52,000 from Rodney District Council, which signed it off.

Mrs White said the past eight years had been a nightmare. She has been robbed of annual holidays because dealing with the leaky-house issue has taken up all her spare time.

Mrs White warned that migrants were in danger of being tricked."

So has much changed for incoming migrants since the Whites arrived eight years ago? it would seem not, immigrants are still being seen as naive or easy targets and "stitched up" accordingly (also by Anne Gibson):

"Immigrants are being saddled with leaky homes, unwittingly buying into our national disaster, says a Remuera real estate agent.

Steve Koerber of Barfoot & Thompson has pointed the finger at vendors and other real estate agents, saying there is a lack of information about houses.

John Gray of the Homeowners and Buyers Association agreed that some agents were reluctant to let potential buyers know of weather-tightness issues, but an agency boss has rejected criticism.

Bryan Thomson, Harcourts chief executive, said agents were upfront if they were made aware of leaks. But not all vendors told agents about leak issues, he said.

Mr Koerber said migrants were particularly at risk because so many were unaware of the dangers of buying a New Zealand house. "I have a big problem with the fact that hundreds of new immigrants and some locals are literally stitched up into potentially leaky or actually leaky homes. Their eyes are wide shut and some owners and agents are genuinely relieved to find them," Mr Koerber said."

For more information on weather tightness including what to look for when purchasing a property

see 'Information for homeowners' on the Department of Building and Housing's web site.

See other posts on this issue here: Leaky homes

Leaky Building Syndrome Goes Sky High

The Nautilus Building, some call it a blot on the Orewa landscape, others are less kind.

You can't miss it - it's the tallest and most out of character construction for miles around, rising from the low lying urban sprawl of the little seaside town like a carbuncle that would have a Prince of the House of Windsor reaching for a well oiled lance. Many of the residents would too.

In common with many homes of its era the Nautilus is said to be suffering from the bete noir of the NZ building industry - Leaky Building Syndrome and its going to cost millions to put it right, that is once the combatants have worked out who to pin the blame on. Mr Martin, of the Cornerstone Group who developed the building is blaming in on Brookfield Multiplex who built it and on maintenance that hadn't been done properly.

Many would ask if its worth spending another cent on, perhaps it's better to draw a veil over the whole sorry saga, demolish it build something decent in its place. Something worthy of the 21 Century but more in keeping with its surroundings.

A report in the Herald said that "Mr Martin said three years ago that out of more than 1000 units he had built, only about 100 leaked."

But three years ago the Herald reported Mr Martin also saying that three Cornerstone Group apartment projects on the North Shore had leak problems

"The 41-unit Oyster Cove at Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa peninsula, the 40-unit complex at 282 Main Beach at Orewa, and an Albany apartment project all leaked to varying degrees, he says.

Claddings were a major contributor to problem, and he has banned the use of all fibre-cement plaster-coated monolithic sheet cladding products from all projects.

"I wouldn't put another sheet of that stuff up. There will never be a sheet of monolithic cladding put on anything we do. We're paranoid about it."

This is how the OREWA RATEPAYERS & RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION Committee saw the Nautilus in 2006.

"We know that some of the developers are going to miss out on their million dollars profit, but “you speculate in the hope to accumulate, but sometimes you lose” This is what has to happen in Orewa if we are to survive the onslaught of vulgar, ill-built high-rise buildings like the Nautilus – which has been an eyesore since it was built and virtually empty ever since with only about 40% occupancy – this must tell the developers that people do not want high-rise. "

I have a feeling this one will run and run.

New Zealand's High Winter Death Rate And Burning Wood To Keep Warm

The University of Otago published a report last year stating that NZ was in the upper end of an international scale for excess winter mortality (EWM) and that 1600 more people died over the winter months than the summer (On overage, 600 more deaths occurred in July compared to February) and that this high EWM had remained pretty constant for the last 20 years.

Otago's Associate Professor Michael Baker reported that NZ's EWM is 2% higher than the mean mortality rates of 14 European countries, even though many of those countries had lower winter temperatures than New Zealand. Why is that?

He said "One theory is that countries like Canada, Norway and Russia have such cold winters that people have developed better insulated houses and other strategies to survive winter. More temperate countries like New Zealand, Ireland and Portugal have a higher EWM because we are less well adapted to cold conditions."

The report concluded that further research was needed:

"EWM in NZ is substantial and at the upper end of the range observed internationally. Interventions to reduce EWM are important, but the surprising lack of variation in EWM by ethnicity, region and deprivation, provides little guidance for how such mortality can be reduced. More targeted research is needed to explore a number of other possible factors that could be contributing to EWM, including the role of climate, influenza, behaviour, crowding in winter, levels of home heating & thermal performance of houses."

Other recent studies seem to confirm that there is a significant problem with the condition of many houses in New Zealand with poor insulation, damp and mould having serious effects on human health.

A year earlier Professor Robert Vale, a sustainable architecture expert, said he was "appalled" by the state of New Zealand's houses. In his opinion even New Zealand's most ecologically advanced houses were 40 years behind European cutting-edge eco-houses:
"In terms of energy efficient houses we are not very far along. It's pretty much where the Scandinavians were in the 1960s."

"Scarily Cold" HousesVale emigrated to New Zealand 13 years ago and described the average New Zealand house as "scarily cold", badly insulated, with huge expanses of single-glazed glass and a nightmare to heat. He and his wife were expecting a country that was environmentally advanced but instead found a country with little interest in sustainability."It's not what we expected, with New Zealand's clean green image and the anti-nuclear thing."

Vale pointed out 17 houses that are being promoted as paragons of energy efficiency on the Building and Research Association of New Zealand's website. These were supposed to be zero and low energy houses but more than two thirds used more energy than the average NZ house, one used 57,000KWh in a year - 5 times the average of 11,000KWh per year.

One large Lyttelton house with a floor area of 330 sq m, used little electricity but more than 53,000KWh worth of firewood each year whilst another promoted as a zero energy home used an LPG heater and a log burner with a wetback.

NZ's Houses Compared to Refugee Camp Huts
According to a health expert 3 out of 4 homes in some regions of New Zealand were so cold, damp and mouldy that they were on a par with refugee camp huts. Associate Professor Jeroen Douwes of Massey University cited a 2005 study, that found mould in 75 per cent of the 1310 households surveyed.

University of Otago public health researcher Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman said New Zealand's high asthma rate could well be related to the incidence of damp houses.

Up to one in five New Zealanders suffer the chronic and sometimes life-threatening respiratory condition. Wellington's Asthma Research Group has found that asthmatics allergic to mould had much more severe symptoms, and were almost twice as likely to end up in intensive care.

Health Ruined in Quarter of a Million Homes
Another study estimated that occupants' health has been ruined in 250,000 New Zealand homes and that both old and new houses were affected. The houses were so cold, damp and poorly built that they caused serious health problems. It's estimated that it would cost $20 billion to put it right.

Air Pollution
The Ministry of the Environment has said that poor air quality is a significant issue in some areas of New Zealand and that two thirds of the population live in areas that can experience air pollution.

It's estimated that 1,100 people die prematurely in urban areas from air pollution and that most poor air quality is caused by high winter levels of particulate matter (PM₁₀) from wood and coal used for home heating. Auckland also experiences high levels of PM₁₀ from road transport.

New Zealand Homes Compared to Refugee Camp Huts

Following on from Sunday's article about poor standards in New Zealand's homes, I came across this article in Scoop and thought it may be worthwhile mentioning it here because it helps to demonstrate just how serious and widespread this problem is.

According to a health expert 3 out of 4 homes in some regions of New Zealand were so cold, damp and mouldy that they were on a par with refugee camp huts....


Source: The Dominion Post
by Ruth Hill

"At a workshop in Wellington yesterday on the health effects of leaky buildings, Associate Professor Jeroen Douwes of Massey University cited a 2005 study, which found mould in 75 per cent of the 1310 households surveyed.

"This is comparable to a study of Palestinian refugee camps, where the rate was 78 per cent."

Nationally, about 35 per cent of New Zealand households report mould in one or more rooms, compared with 18 per cent in Europe.

A survey by Otago University public health researchers of 33 peer-reviewed studies found exposure to damp and mould raised the risk for respiratory problems -wheezing, coughing and asthma - by 30 per cent to 50 per cent.

Conservative estimates put the direct health costs of leaky buildings in New Zealand at $61 million a year.

Public awareness of respiratory problems associated with damp houses remained low, he said.

"This issue affects potentially tens of millions of people worldwide, and there is a big case for more interventions and research."

University of Otago public health researcher Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, who chaired the workshop, said New Zealand's high asthma rate could well be related to the incidence of damp houses.

Up to one in five New Zealanders suffer the chronic and sometimes life-threatening respiratory condition. Wellington's Asthma Research Group has found that asthmatics allergic to mould had much more severe symptoms, and were almost twice as likely to end up in intensive care...."

Health Ruined in Quarter Million NZ Homes

Source NZ Herald

by Cliff Taylor

"A quarter of a million homes are so cold, damp and poorly built they are causing serious health problems, according to a significant new study.

The problem with the houses - which are poorly insulated, some with black mould and potentially toxic air quality - could cost more than $20 billion to put right, say report authors.

Both old and new homes affected

It is not just a problem with old homes. Many new homes and renovated homes lack adequate insulation, heating, ventilation and double-glazing, as builders and landlords invest their money instead in superficial improvements to increase houses' value.

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, which commissioned the survey of 3500 households, says the country is suffering a "massive" housing problem and it has called for law changes to bring homes up to scratch.

Respondents said they and their children suffered from a wide range of illnesses, including sinus problems, mould allergies, asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, caused by damp and badly insulated homes.

Newcomers say 'they've never been colder in homes'

Business Council chief executive Peter Neilson says, "Talk to anyone coming to New Zealand and they say they have never been colder in homes."

The problem has been made worse by rising electricity costs. People responding to the survey said they had been forced to move into the lounge during winter to keep warm; and mould and damp had caused their children to be repeatedly admitted to hospital with respiratory and other health problems.

See also

Plan unveiled to upgrade New Zealand's million unhealthy, inefficient homes

Killer mould in schools - the "new asbestos"

National announces plan to keep homes cold and damp

Problems with damp and cold housing among Pacific families in New Zealand

Leaky Homes

Demolition For House That Leaks Like a Sieve

Source: NZ Herald, Thurs 4 Sept 2008

A migrant family are so disillusioned with their big house in the Auckland suburb of Lynfield that they are demolishing it. The large 1980s seaside place had many defects and faults, including leaks. The family came here from Taiwan last decade but are so disheartened after years of enduring the house that they have decided to start again........

The 255sq m house was badly designed, wet and cold, they said. Problems were so widespread that it was not even worth removing the house from the site for resale.......

They said none of their windows had flashings to keep out rain. Nor were the walls insulated, which meant the place was freezing. The house was oriented towards the seaward side and the prevailing weather so water came into the lounge and the largest bedroom through windows. But because the house was built in the 1980s, the family had no legal redress via the state-funded system which helps leaky-home owners. The house was not eligible for a weathertightness assessment or claim. The Government bans owners of houses built more than a decade ago from using its leaky building service, which offers free house inspections, written reports on defects and dispute negotiation, mediation or adjudication to resolve problems. "It was not built very nicely," said one of the house's residents yesterday, adding that her family did not initially know enough about the system to commission a building inspector's report before they bought it in the 1990s. "We ... just thought it was a nice area," she said. It was only when a family member met a builder that they discovered the extent of the problem. QV has the house listed as being worth $600,000: $310,000 for the house and $290,000 for the large site.

The Problems Migrants Encounter with Housing

One of the most frequent problems that migrants from developed countries have is with the condition of the housing stock in New Zealand. Much of it is wooden framed, ranging from old Kauri villas to mansions and there are often problems associated with dampness, lack of adequate heating and poor insulation.

There has been a lot of coverage in recent years of a phenomenon called "leaky homes syndrome," it's just another way of describing weather tightness issues and it affects all sorts of buildings - right through from apartment blocks, to townhouses and million dollar homes. For more information see http://www.nailed.co.nz/The_Problem_Explained_943.aspx

If you are thinking about purchasing a property in New Zealand be sure to have a full and proper inspection carried out and make it a condition of the sale that the report be satisfactory.


Most of the houses are timber framed with a skin to keep the weather out - this could be comprised of overlapping boards, plywood, thin brick veneer, metal sheets, plaster or other materials. In older houses there is often no insulation in either the external walls or roof voids, this can cause problems with heat retention during the winter, or over-heating during the summer. Condensation on cold external surfaces is also a problem and this can lead to fungal growth and unhealthy living conditions.

Many houses are built on piles which are usually wooden and can be prone to rot, suspended floors are often uninsulated and draughty.

Problems such as these have resulted in changes being made to the building code to ensure that adequate insulation and, where needed, double glazing is fitted as standard to new homes. However, despite the low winter temperatures in some parts of New Zealand there is seldom any provision for heating other than an open fire or wood burner. Some home owners are installing heat pumps (a type of electric fan heater) but these can be expensive to buy, fit and operate. Heat pumps may also be used to dehumidify and cool the air.

New Zealand has the second highest prevalence of asthma in the world and it is thought that mold spores in damp homes, dust mites and smoke from wood fires are three triggers for the disease.

What can you do?

• If you're buying a house have it properly surveyed and if necessary set aside money to bring the house up to a standard that you are comfortable with. A house that faces north is desirable because of the amount of solar gain it will accumulate during the winter. Be wary of houses that are in valleys or shielded in some way from the winter sun.
  

• If you're renting look very carefully for signs of damp or mold growth, check around window openings, the edges of carpets, in closets and linen cupboards. Also look for signs of water penetration and ask what type of insulation is present in the property. You will need to think about how you are going to heat the house in winter and whether or not to buy a dehumidifier.

to be continued..............

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