KEY POINTS:
The Government's Department of Building and Housing is backing councils in rejecting applications for monolithic-clad houses to get code compliance certificates.
Councils are refusing to issue the final sign-off on many of the places, making the houses less saleable without the certificates testifying they meet Building Code requirements.
In most cases, the department's determinations manager, John Gardiner of Wellington, is agreeing with the councils, saying they are doing the right thing in refusing certificates.
However, owners of such houses have been dealt a double blow. Applying for a determination can create more problems because the department has asked councils to issue notices to fix some houses.
Home owners are entitled to apply for a review of their case if they disagree with the council's ruling that their houses do not comply with the Building Code.
The certificates are essential because they indicate the house, properly maintained, will meet Building Code requirements for 50 years.
Once a council issues a certificate, it can become jointly liable for defects in the first decade.
Decisions issued are all posted on the department's website www.dbh.govt.nz and many of the determinations now also feature pictures of the houses.
Examples of cases heard lately where the homeowner and the councils sought the department's determination:
* A 7-year-old Tauranga house with monolithic cladding, has a moderately complicated design, few eaves and two enclosed decks. The house has a series of defects and the cladding and window details had not been installed properly.
Mr Gardiner backed the council's decision not to issue a certificate, saying the cladding did not comply with the Building Code. He found significant water penetration.
* The owner of a 3-year-old Pukekohe house has been told by the Franklin council to modify it to ensure weathertightness.
Mr Gardiner said the 3-year-old house was a moderately complicated boomerang shape. It has a curved roof, an enclosed deck and timber framing which was likely to be untreated.
The cladding system had been installed correctly and complied with the Building Code, but other aspects had to be rectified to ensure the house stayed weathertight.
* Mr Gardiner has urged that the owner of an Albany house, which was altered five years ago, be issued a notice to fix the house so it complied with the Building Code.
He has backed North Shore City's decision not to issue a code compliance certificate on finding that the cladding was inadequate because it was allowing "significant water penetration" into the building.
