Leaky homeowners take action against cladding company with lawsuit

Houses built decades ago are still plagued with waterproofing issues.

Homeowners affected by the leaky homes saga are hopeful a class action suit will bring closure to the issue that has plagued their lives for nearly two decades.

A Supreme Court decision has allowed a group of home owners to fight their case against cladding company James Hardie in court.

Nine years on from the first signs of a leaky home, Meredith Osmond’s home still bears the scars of the saga. She is just one of seven in a Wellington townhouse block that are affected.

"One of the owners further down from here, they sold their place in 2016 for a third of the price it should have gone for," said Ms Osmond.

"That's showing you the value that’s lost in these properties."

Unregulated building practices in the 1990s and early 2000s led to thousands of homes affected by rot and leaks.

Gary Stewart's property is one of a block in Auckland under repair, which he is footing the bill for.

"I'm 65 at the end of this year and mortgage free. The last thing I need is a $180,000 mortgage."

Both homeowners are seeking compensation against James Hardie, the manufacturer of Harditex and the Titan Board Cladding used.

They have joined others in a class action suit.

Lawyer Dan Parker is representing the group and trying to get as many on board before the deadline closes at the end of the month.

"At the moment it’s about 85, but we have another 30 or so who are about to sign on who are having some testing done."

"We've got another about 300 live inquires that we are working on."

"There would be thousands out there, the actual numbers that have been built using these products is unknown but it will be in the many thousands," Mr Parker said.

James Hardie is fighting the claims and denies all the allegations. 

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