Leaky home sold to main builder

The leaky home at 36 Leithton Close, in Glenleith, which has been bought by its principal builder...
The leaky home at 36 Leithton Close, in Glenleith, which has been bought by its principal builder. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
The principal builder of a Dunedin leaky home has bought the property as part of a confidential settlement with its former owners, it has been confirmed.

However, other details of the deal - including how much the settlement has cost the Dunedin City Council - remain suppressed.

The house at 36 Leithton Close, in Glenleith, was owned by Deborah Wai Kapohe and Michael Beazley, who blamed the council and other parties for leaving them with a leaky home.

The couple paid $550,000 for the house in late 2010 after checking it had a council-issued code of compliance certificate - confirming it met Building Code requirements - but discovered problems soon after moving in.

It was confirmed in July the couple had reached agreement with the council as part of a wider settlement, but a confidentiality agreement has so far kept the details under wraps.

However, rates information on the council website yesterday showed the home had changed hands and Geoffrey Alan Martin was listed as the new owner.

Mr Martin was the principal builder when the home was completed in 2001.

He declined to comment yesterday, saying he was "not really interested in making any more news about it".

In February last year, he told the Otago Daily Times he was employed to work on the house, but insisted design specifications were followed throughout.

"You can only follow the plan. It was built the way it was designed."

Council staff have already rejected one request for details of the settlement, made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, despite the likelihood of public money being involved.

Yesterday a second request for information about the cost of the settlement was also rejected by council staff, who cited privacy, an obligation of confidence and the need to negotiate without prejudice as reasons.

The decision has been referred to the Office of the Ombudsmen for review.

In 2010, council chief building control officer Neil McLeod confirmed settlements totalling $182,000 had been reached with two other leaky home owners, also after council building inspectors failed to identify faults.

Asked at the time of the latest settlement why it could not be made public, Mr McLeod would only say: "This one is confidential. That is the difference."

Ms Wai Kapohe, Mr Beazley and their children have moved to Wanganui, where Ms Wai Kapohe works as an arts facilitator for the Wanganui District Council.

- chris.morris@odt.co.nz

 

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