Is Your Home a Leaky Home?
Your Home, Your family and Your Health Could be at Risk!
The Leaky Home Problem
The leaky home crisis is estimated to affect as many as 89,000 houses and apartment buildings in New Zealand that were built or modified from 1994 to 2005.
A leaky home is any house that suffers from severe weathertightness problems and leaks when it rains, causing the internal framework to rot. In many cases, the resulting damage in homes is not immediately obvious.
How to Tell if You Have a Leaky Home
The most obvious signs of leaks are water dripping or pooling inside when it’s raining.
However, most leaky homes have less obvious signs some of which are:
- Sagging of ceiling linings
- Corrosion of fixings (i.e. Screws, nails, etc)
- Uneven floor surfaces – lifting of vinyl
- Mould or fungi formation on surfaces (although this is often due to poor ventilation)
- Musty smells
- Swollen materials e.g. skirtings / architraves
- Staining or discolouration of materials or finishes
- Stained or rotting carpet or rusting of carpet fixings
In many cases signs of leaking may not be very obvious.
Call us today, and get a leaky home inspection, we’ll check your home’s weather-tightness
and let you know how it can be repaired – 0800 50 30 40
These are some common features that can be problem areas on leaky homes:
- Parapets and flat roofs
- Roof to wall junctions
- Pergola fixings
- Handrail fixings
- Lack of flashings to windows and penetrations
- Decks over living areas
- Balustrade to deck or balustrade to wall junctions
- Clearances at bottom of claddings
- Level of ground outside is above interior floor level
If your house has some or all of these features it does not necessarily mean that you have a leaky home, but it is worth having an inspection. If your home was built within the last 10 years and you intend to lodge a claim under the WHRS Act , we can arrange for your home to be assessed.
Continued leaking and penetration of water may cause further damage or make existing damage worse, adding to the eventual cost of repair.
Call us today, and get a leaky home inspection, we’ll check your home’s weather-tightness
and let you know how it can be repaired – 0800 50 30 40
The Health Risks of a Leaky Home
- Damp living conditions and can worsen the symptoms of illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis and other breathing disorders. Damp also encourages the spread of dust mites which can further worsen these disorders
- Damp insulation within the wall framing dramatically reduces the insulation value, making rooms harder to heat. The combination of cold damp rooms and the presence of some fungi will worsen respiratory problems for the very young and very old
- In addition to these problems, some fungi which grow within wet wall cavities are toxic. In particular the stachybotrys mould (a type of fungi) produces spores which carry chemical toxins known as mycotoxins. These may cause flu like symptoms. They particularly affect the young, the old and those with weakened immune systems
- Stachybotrys can be present within a damp wall cavity with no obvious signs or ill effects, but once exposed they will produce airborne spores which can be inhaled by those in close proximity
- If stachybotrys is found, you will probably need to leave the home while repairs are made. People working on the removal of affected timber have to wear protective gear
- The structural framework could possibly collapse due to the rotting timber and injure or kill someone
A Steep Decline in Home Valuation
There are various reports that indicate that a leaky home could be valued as much as 40% lower than a similar home that is not leaking. For example; a leaky home in Auckland could be worth $200,000 to $400,000 less than an equivalent non-leaky home.
Financial Assistance Package to Repair Your Leaky Home
Under the FAP you (the qualifying homeowner) share the agreed actual repair cost of repairing your home with the government and your local council, if it approved the original work and is participating in the FAP.
The government and council each pay 25 per cent of the repair cost and you pay the remaining 50 per cent. However, if your council didn’t sign off on the building work, or has chosen not to participate in the FAP, you will need to agree to pay 75 per cent of the costs to get payments under the scheme.
The FAP offers homeowners the certainty of a financial contribution and helps to get more leaky homes fixed faster.
The FAP is administered by the Department of Building and Housing (DBH), the same government department that administers leaky home claims through its Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) division. If you qualify for a claim with the WHRS, you qualify for the FAP.
To qualify for a WHRS claim, and consequently the FAP, three conditions must be met:
- The home must have been built less than 10-years ago
- There must be a leak
- There must be damage caused by the leak
Here’s what to do next to repair your Leaky Home
Step 1 – Call us today at 0800 50 30 40 and book an inspection
Step 2 – We’ll provide you with an inspection report and an estimate to repair your home
Step 3 – We will carry out the work and get all the necessary sign-offs to certify that your home
is remedied, safe and saleable again
Call us today and give yourself peace of mind – 0800 50 30 40
Financing Solutions for Repairing your Leaky Home
We make repairing and renovating your home affordable, providing various financing options to help make enhancing your home easy. We have simple payment solutions. (On approved credit) Call us today for a Free no-obligation estimate – 0800 50 30 40
