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The Lasting Effects of the Leaky Homes Crisis
- Bill Zhao
- Aug 13
- 2 min read
Having shaped the New Zealand construction industry as a whole, the Leaky Homes Crisis continues to affect us today. Over the period of almost two decades from 1988 onwards, a number of New Zealand homes were built with weather-tightness issues, and facing a stray leak became the least of homeowners’ worries. The potential for water-ingress had lasting effects on structural integrity and New Zealand building regulations, and at significant cost to homeowners, the government, and local councils.
The reasoning behind why the Leaky Homes Crisis occurred can be attributed a variety of factors, namely the trending usage of early monolithic cladding systems. Unlike modern cladding, older generations were vulnerable to construction and thermal movement, which resulted in cracks over time, allowing moisture into the framing. This material was popular amongst the “Mediterranean” style homes which were trending at the time, resulting in widespread usage. 1995’s building code also allowed the use of untreated timber, further contributing to compromises in structure.
The effects of water ingress can manifest quickly, and some of it may even go unnoticed for a long time, but are highly dangerous regardless. With the cracks in cladding allowing for water to enter the very framing of the house, decay and mould became the two dominant fears of a leaky home. Weakened timber had the potential to cripple a home’s structural integrity, and mould posed significant health risks to the respiratory system.
In wake of the crisis, New Zealand oversaw a strict overhaul in building policy, primarily in the form of Building Act 2004, which replaced its 1991 counterpart, featuring more detailed demands in consumer protection, building designs, and designer licensing. Varied regional interpretations of the code also stemmed from this, with large cities such as Auckland facing strict policy interpretations and a lengthy consent process. Much of the stringent safety precautions and processes we experience today derive from the country’s fallout from the leaky Homes Crisis, which affected 89,000 homes with a bill in the tens of billions, and tens of thousands of homes still unrepaired.
With the vast safety concerns and costliness of repairs, it comes as no surprise that New Zealand has taken strict countermeasures to curb such crises from ever happening again. While we all know how involved the building and renovation process can be, it certainly is not without good reason.
Primary source: The causes of the Leaky Homes Crisis | Stuff
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