*ARCHIVE* - Media Release - 14 Nov 2002

Homeowners are continuing to register with the Department of Internal Affairs' Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. The service has received a steady increase in the number of calls and registrations since it was established four weeks ago.

The government set up a toll-free number and website to provide information and support to people affected by "leaky building" problems.

So far a total of 932 people have called the toll-free number - 226 in the last week (to November 13). A total of 287 have now registered with the service - 69 in the last week.

Project coordinator Richard Martin said people registering with the service would be pleased to know that Parliament is expected to consider the legislation needed to implement the service's mediation and adjudication framework shortly.

"A draft of the legislation is up on the weathertightness website for people to look at. They will also find information there about how the service will operate."

Homeowners who register with the service are asked to complete an application form. Their details are checked against the service's eligibility criteria and if their application is accepted, an independent assessment is made of their property. Homeowners may then choose to move into the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service's voluntary mediation process or opt immediately for its compulsory adjudication procedure.

So far just over half the calls to the 0800 number have come from the greater Auckland area (Whangarei to Manukau). Eleven per cent of the calls are from the Waikato region. The central region (Napier/Wanganui to Nelson/Blenheim) accounts for 25 per cent of the calls and 13 per cent come from the southern region (Christchurch/West Coast/Invercargill).

The Department of Internal Affairs is running the toll-free help line and the weathertightness website (http://www.weathertightness.govt.nz/). The website is updated each Thursday to show the number of registrations received.

Calls to the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service
as at 13 November 2002