In New Zealand, a couple who are distraught over their leaky home have been put on suicide watch after they went through six years of litigation to fix their watery property.

The Christchurch couple became emotionally distressed after their dream home turned into a housing nightmare and battle.

The pair spent an estimated $200,000 on their home insurance, attempting to repair the leaks in their property. The couple eventually negotiated a settlement, but the details of their compensation have been kept secret.

Steve Hotton, a builder said the couple were not the only ones whose leaky homes have created floods of stress: “What people are forgetting is the absolute damage it causes to people, and that's something I see first-hand.  I'm no longer a builder or a remediation expert; I've become more of a psychologist dealing with it all.”

He furthered: “I've had clients on suicide watch and I've had clients end up in hospital through stress. I've watched grown men and prominent men in Christchurch sitting in the corner wiping the tears out of their eyes because they can't handle it.”

Hotton has repaired 27 leaky homes and said that measures such as home insurance and home warranty insurance, raised by the Government would have to be part of a series of steps to help leaky home owners.

A home for disaster

Latest figures from the Department of Building and Housing show 6403 properties nationwide have lodged claims with the Government’s Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. The 223 claims on properties in Christchurch represent 85% of all claims in the South Island.

The Building Amendment Bill had its first reading in Parliament last week with a proposal that aims to streamline the building consent process and would be one of a series of changes.

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said: “The Government will also be looking at how liability and risk around building is distributed between parties and how it might be better managed. This will include looking at home warranty insurance.”

A review of options for a Government-sanctioned home warranty insurance programme where homeowners can cover the risk of faulty construction is pending too.

In New South Wales there is a compulsory home warranty scheme for properties valued at more than $12,000. Such insurance is already offered by Master Builders and the Certified Builders Association.

Master Builders chief executive Warwick Quinn said insurance was popular. However, he said it should not be compulsory and it should not be statutorily driven by the Government, "Home warranties isn't a golden bullet."