25 Nov 2008

More leaky school buildings disovered

6:20 pm on 25 November 2008

The number of schools affected by leaky buildings has more than doubled since March.

At present, the Ministry of Education records 36 schools as having buildings affected by leaks, up from 14 in March.

The majority are in Auckland, five are in Tauranga and one is in the South Island.

The ministry will not comment on the possibility of taking legal action to recover the cost of fixing the buildings.

A lawyer representing clients who have leaky homes says he thinks more commercial buildings will be identified as having problems.

Paul Grimshaw says its no surprise that more commercial buildings are showing signs of leaking because the crisis affects anything built from the mid-1990s onwards.

Mr Grimshaw says the legal process to remedy problems can take a long time, but most people who have done it have found it worthwhile.