The Dunedin City Council has a date for mediation, but can give no guarantees that finger-pointing over a leaky home that has dragged on for more than a year is about to be resolved.
Council development services manager Kevin Thompson yesterday confirmed mediators had scheduled a hearing for July 27 to attempt to reach a settlement between the council and the owners of 36 Leithton Close, Glenleith.
Deborah Wai Kapohe, husband Michael Beazley and their two daughters have been seeking a settlement - or a way out - since discovering leaky home defects in their $550,000 house in late 2010.
They blamed the council for signing off a code of compliance certificate for the house, despite flaws they say led to it being declared a leaky home in April last year.
Mr Thompson would not be drawn on the merits of their claim yesterday, and was not aware of any progress towards a resolution, saying "this is where it's at at the moment".
"Letters are being exchanged between lawyers, but that's just a normal process."
The family had spent much of last winter in one room of their home, trying to keep warm while awaiting mediation, which they had originally expected would be completed before Christmas last year.
That timeframe had continued to shift.
The family said in January they expected a hearing in March this year.
That had not happened, and more delays could follow. Mr Thompson said additional mediation dates might be required before the matter was resolved.
Failure to reach an agreement could also trigger an adjudication process.
"It would depend on whether the matter can be resolved there [at the July hearing].
"We don't pick the date. It's when they're available," Mr Thompson said.
Attempts to contact the family this week were unsuccessful, but Ms Wai Kapohe told the ODT in January she was fearful they faced a second winter stuck in their home.
The following day, the couple were offered another home to stay in, rent-free, by a member of the public, allowing them to move out but continue to make mortgage payments.
It was not clear yesterday whether the offer had been taken up.
