Leaky house costs owner's life

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Leaky house costs owner's life

4:00AM Sunday Jul 12, 2009

By McCracken and Alice Neville

New Zealand Herald - Auckland,New Zealand

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1 & objectid=10583897

One leaky home owner has committed suicide, and dozens of others are on suicide

watch. Photo / Sykes

The distraught owner of a leaky home has taken his own life - one of three

self-inflicted deaths attributed to the crisis - and dozens of others are on

suicide watch.

The Auckland businessman hit the wall after his leaky home woes affected his

efforts to support his business.

He was trying to borrow money against his home but the lender rejected his

application when the it found out his home was leaky.

Leaky home campaigner Gray said investigations had shown the cost of repair

would have been around $750,000 - almost the cost of a rebuild. " He couldn't

afford to repair it, and so he wasn't able to borrow money. It all became too

much.

" It highlights how much of a reliance we have on our homes as an investment.

Most New Zealanders consider that as their bedrock for investment. "

Gray said the man was one of three who had taken their own lives as a direct

result of having a leaky home. He knew many more who were suffering from severe

depression.

" They're backed into that corner of absolute hopelessness, " said Gray, president

of the Home Owners and Buyers Association New Zealand.

" I've seen several people have real breakdowns purely and simply as a

consequence of having a leaky home and battling for years to get through the

process. "

In 2007, Gray told the Herald on Sunday he knew of at least 10 leaky home

victims on suicide watch. Two years on that figure has risen sharply. " It's the

insidious and quite hidden cost of this problem that is of great concern to us, "

he said.

" Dozens of people are suffering really badly. They need a lot of support to get

through this sorry mess because they've got the financial worries and the loss

of security. For some people there's no hope. "

Gray said local authorities and lawyers who charged huge fees shouldered much of

the blame.

" The result is they don't have enough money to fix their homes and they're just

dying a slow and miserable death in their rotten, defective homes. "

Many were once successful businesspeople who were struggling to cope with the

stigma of mental illness. " We've got high-profile people in executive jobs who

won't get help because of the stigma of depression - they fear how that will

impact on their future and their career, " said Gray.

He knew of one " very well-known businessman " who had been hit particularly hard.

" He's saying 'I'm tough, but this has just brought me to my knees'. "

Gray wants the Government to put more effort into helping homeowners fix their

properties and offer help to people who aren't eligible to go to the tribunal or

can't afford litigation.

Leaky home owners' advocate Bill Duval said there was a huge social cost in

broken marriages, stress, and continuing health problems related to damp and

mould.

He had previously estimated 100,000 homes could be affected but now felt the

numbers could be higher.

A report into the extent of the problem, commissioned by the Government, is

expected to show far more homes are affected than previously thought.

The rising cost of the crisis would force councils to be " ultra conservative "

with building consents, Auckland City Council finance committee chairman Doug

Armstrong warned. He said unless the Government shouldered more responsibility,

the cost of building a house would rise.

" If we're expected to guarantee the building we would have to put someone on the

job fulltime to make sure every little detail was right, and building consent

costs would be $50,000. "

The Government has called for a full report on the Weathertight Homes Resolution

Service, and commissioned a review by Pricewaterhouse s into the extent of

the crisis. Building and Construction Minister Maurice on wouldn't

comment before the review was complete.