*ARCHIVE* - Weathertightness News - No. 9, November 2004
What's inside
- The final edition
- Weathertightness: two years on from the Hunn Report
- Weathertight Homes Resolution Service - latest figures
- Progress report
The final edition
This is to be the last edition of Weathertightness News. The first issue appeared in April 2003, with the aim of providing a building industry forum for news and developments relating to solving the weathertightness problem.
The BIA has continued to produce the newsletter on a bi-monthly basis, keeping its audience up to date with progress made in remedying existing ‘leaky buildings’ and helping prevent others from being designed or built in the future.
This final edition of the newsletter includes a summary of steps taken to combat weathertightness problems in the ‘post Hunn’ era. Future weathertightness topics will be covered in Codewords, the new regular monthly newsletter of the Department of Building and Housing’s Building Controls Group.
Weathertightness: two years on from the Hunn Report
Significant progress has been made by the Government and the building sector as a whole in tackling weathertightness concerns. We round off Weathertightness News with a look at the steps taken to combat the ‘leaky building syndrome’ since the Hunn Report was released in 2002.
In September 2002, the first part of a report on weathertightness was released, with the second part following in November 2002.
Now commonly referred to as the Hunn Report, the document marked an important point in the Government’s response to the ‘leaky building’ problem.
The Weathertightness of Buildings report was produced by the Overview Group, led by Don Hunn and with the technical and professional expertise of Ian Bond and David Kernohan.
The Group was appointed by the Building Industry Authority in February 2002 to investigate and report on concerns being raised by industry, media and affected homeowners. It identified a wide range of issues, and highlighted the need for changes in the regulatory environment to help resolve these.
‘The whole system had to be re-examined,’ recalls Don Hunn. ‘This was something which had built up over years and was waiting to happen. Once the problem was opened up, the whole industry realised something had to be done. For my part, the Damascus experience was that you only had to accept the simple proposition that no matter how well you built a house, water was going to find its way in, and this had to be managed. For the decade before, people had worked on the premise that claddings were impermeable.’
Among the first steps to be taken after the release of the Hunn Report were public warnings from the BIA about the safety of balconies and balustrades, and the potential health risks from moulds and other fungi in damp buildings.
In November 2002, the Government established the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS). The aim of the WHRS was to provide a route for owners of leaky buildings to seek resolution by mediation or adjudication at minimal cost. As of 28 October 2004, the WHRS has 1951 active claims.
Select Committee inquiry
The Government also set up its own Government Administration Select Committee inquiry into the weathertightness problem. The Select Committee received both written and oral submissions from individuals, companies and groups.
Following on from this, the Government decided to extend its review of the Building Act to take into account important issues raised in both the Hunn Report and the parliamentary inquiry. The extended review included:
- consumer protection
- regulation of professionals
- structure of the regulator
- administration and compliance.
The role of the BIA
‘In October 2002, the BIA brought together the whole building sector at a Building Industry Summit in Auckland, and stressed the need for leadership at all levels and in all parts of the sector to tackle the weathertightness problem,’ says Don Hunn. ‘From there, it embarked on its own contribution to the process of improvement.’
The Government appointed a three-person team to help the BIA implement key recommendations from the Overview Group and Select Committee reports. The BIA responded to its additional responsibilities and expectations by increasing staff numbers. In June 2003, it set up the Building Industry Performance Group (BIPG) to work alongside territorial authorities and building certifiers on matters relating to building compliance.
The BIA also responded to recommendations in the Hunn Report for more comprehensive Approved Documents to help the building industry comply with the New Zealand Building Code. The Acceptable Solution B2/AS1 for Clause B2 Durability was revised and republished in December 2003, citing the latest revision to Standard NZS 3602 for timber durability.
In addition, the BIA worked on extending the coverage of the Acceptable Solution E2/AS1 for Clause E2 External Moisture. The document, published in June 2004, covers an increased number of claddings and provides details for windows, penetrations, decks and balconies. It also introduces the use of cavities behind claddings in higher weathertightness risk situations.
Seminar series explaining the Acceptable Solutions for B2 and E2 have been run in conjunction with Standards New Zealand and BRANZ. A Physics of Weathertightness course is now also being run by the BIA, aimed specifically at TAs and building certifiers.
A new Building Act
Weathertightness acted as a catalyst for the decision to initially review the Building Act 1991, with the Building Bill being tabled in Parliament in August 2003. The Government Administration Select Committee reported back to Parliament on the Building Bill in July 2004. The Bill contained substantial changes to the Building Act 1991, aimed at providing a better regulated building industry and more consumer protection.
The Bill was passed in August 2004. Key changes in the Building Act 2004 include the disestablishment of the BIA, the location of the building controls regulatory functions in the Department of Building and Housing, the setting up of a Licensed Building Practitioner regime, and the accreditation and registration of territorial authorities and building certifiers. A new product certification scheme is also specified in the new Act, aimed at ensuring products and systems comply with the Building Code.
These measures form part of a wider package that provides assurance to the public that buildings are being designed and built right first time. Their implementation will be phased in over a period of up to five years. This allows for the development of the systems needed to manage these schemes, and gives those affected an opportunity to demonstrate they meet the requirements once they have been defined.
The Building Act 2004 also requires that the existing Building Code be reviewed within the next three years. There will be opportunity for both the industry and public to provide input into these processes, in the form of public discussion documents.
Department of Building and Housing
The new Building Act provides for the dissolution of the Building Industry Authority on 30 November 2004. BIA staff will join the Government’s newly established Department of Building and Housing, which brings together the Ministry of Housing, the WHRS and the building policy team from the Ministry of Economic Development. For the first time, the Department will offer the building sector and consumers a central focus for communicating with the Government on matters relating to building and housing.
The legacy of the leaky building problem will take many years to work through. However, the range of measures initiated or planned since the release of the Hunn Report should ensure that the likelihood of a similar problem arising in the future is minimised.
Weathertight Homes Resolution Service - latest figures
The Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) was set up to help resolve disputes over ‘leaky homes’. Here, the WHRS gives an update on its active claims.
The WHRS assessments to determine eligibility for the Service and the extent of property damage are provided at no cost to homeowners. To date 1369 assessment reports have been sent to homeowners.
If claims are eligible, homeowners can choose to use the WHRS’s voluntary mediation process, opt for compulsory adjudication, or decide to take no further action. Homeowners are required to pay $200 towards the cost of mediation and $400 towards the cost of adjudication.
The WHRS has completed 191 resolutions: 131 using mediation, 12 through adjudication and 48 resolved by other means. The mediation and adjudication processes are under way for a further 402 homeowners.
An additional 459 homeowners have had their cases deemed eligible by the WHRS Evaluation Panel and have yet to decide whether to proceed to mediation or adjudication.
The WHRS freephone help line 0800 116 926 operates Monday to Friday from 8.30 am – 7 pm. To date 8722 calls have been received.
A breakdown of active claims by the region in which they occur is available below.
The WHRS website www.dbh.govt.nz contains information about the work of the Service and issues related to leaky homes.
WHRS active claims by territorial authority
Progress report
An at-a-glance guide to the steps taken to address the weathertightness problem.
September 2002: first part of the Report of the Overview Group on the Weathertightness of Buildings (the ‘Hunn Report’) is released.
September 2002: BIA announces its intention to review the relevant parts of the Building Code (Clauses E2 and B2), and issues a public warning on unsafe balconies.
September 2002: BRANZ Ltd lends its support to the Select Committee inquiry into leaky buildings. BRANZ also publishes a number of weathertightness-related publications.
October 2002: experts from across the whole building sector come together at the Building Industry Summit on Weathertightness, held in Auckland.
November 2002: the second part of the Hunn Report is released.
November 2002: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2002 is enacted.
November 2002: the Government establishes the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service.
March 2003: release of the report of the Government Administration Select Committee’s inquiry into the weathertightness of buildings.
April 2003: the BIA publishes the first edition of Weathertightness News.
August 2003: Building Bill tabled in Parliament.
September 2003: the BIA releases submissions received during the consultation period (June – August 2003) for proposed amendments to the Acceptable Solutions for New Zealand Building Code Clauses E2 (External Moisture) and B2 (Durability).
December 2003: Standards New Zealand (SNZ) publishes a revised Standard NZS 3602: 2003 Timber and wood-based products for use in building.
December 2003: the BIA announces changes to Acceptable Solution B2/AS1 (timber durability) of New Zealand Building Code Clause B2, citing the revised Standard.
February 2004: the BIA announces amendment to existing Acceptable Solution E2/AS1 requiring drained cavity behind stucco solid plaster on timber framing.
March 2004: the BIA publishes a consumer pamphlet on timber treatment requirements for people building or renovating.
April 2004: the BIA and SNZ launch a nationwide series of seminars on the changes to B2/AS1.
April 2004: Critical Requirements for the Assessment of ‘Monolithic’ Claddings is sent out to territorial authorities and private building certifiers. The publication was developed by the BIA in conjunction with industry groups and the Building Officials Institute of New Zealand (BOINZ).
June 2004: the BIA publishes the third edition of its Approved Document for Clause E2 External Moisture. The document contains a new Acceptable Solution, E2/AS1, providing more detail on how buildings should be designed and built to prevent leaks, and to manage them if they occur. The document also contains a new Verification Method (E2/VM1) to allow cladding manufacturers to prove the weathertightness performance of their products when used as part of an overall cladding system containing a cavity.
June 2004: BIA and BRANZ Ltd launch part one of a seminar series on the new E2/AS1, aimed at the whole building industry.
July 2004: Government Administration Select Committee reports back to Parliament on the Building Bill.
August 2004: the BIA and Building Networks launch workshops for building officials on the Risk Matrix in E2/AS1.
August 2004: Timber Treatment Requirements: Notes for Builders is jointly published by the BIA and SNZ.
August 2004: Building Bill is passed.
October 2004: part two of the BIA/BRANZ weathertightness seminar series.
October 2004: the BIA and Ministry of Economic Development launch a website dedicated to the Building Act 2004: www.dbh.govt.nz
October 2004: launch of training course on Physics of Weathertightness, aimed at territorial authorities and building certifiers.
November 2004: announcement of revised implementation dates for E2/AS1 and B2/AS1.