Leaky Homes

The Dominion Post editorial is on leaky homes:

In late June, the mayors of 14 cities agreed on a package of proposals to put to the Government. They estimate that 80,000 people live in homes that leak or are at risk of doing so, and put the bill for repairs at up to an eyewatering $2.1 billion. The estimate for Wellington alone is $132 million.

When news of the idea surfaced, Miss Clark was unsympathetic. The Government, she said, had “no liability whatsoever …” but went on to concede that homeowners were the innocent parties. It is those people whom the mayors profess to have front of mind because, according to Ms Prendergast, they are settling for 50 per cent or less of the repair costs in compensation.

It is no surprise that Clark is unsympathetic. She initially denied there was any widespread problem. In fact I think her words were that the issue was being manufactured by the Herald as a story they “keep banging on about”.