Faulty houses trap for owners

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Many New Zealand homes have defects their owners do not know of, according to a national house condition survey.

Tuesday, October 25th 2005, 7:44AM

by The Landlord

The survey of 565 houses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch by Branz – the commercial arm of the Building Research Association – used building inspectors to check the condition of houses, then compared their verdicts with the perceptions of owners. Results were issued in Wellington yesterday.

Of the owners surveyed, 80 per cent believed their homes were in good or excellent condition. However, the inspectors believed just 50 per cent deserved such a ranking.

Branz spokesman Mark Jones said the most severe defects were in the "out of sight, out of mind" category. They included poor or inadequate under-floor ventilation and inadequate ceiling insulation.

Almost one house in six had foundations in poor or serious condition. Almost half the houses had inadequate clearance of wall cladding above ground, and 58 per cent of hot water cylinders had no earthquake restraints. "We also found most bathrooms and many kitchens were inadequately ventilated. That is a concern, given the amount of vapour generated in these rooms with the potential to damage materials and finish."

Though 80 per cent of homes had smoke alarms, 10 per cent of alarms did not work and 14 per cent of homeowners admitted to never checking them.

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