The chief adjudicator of the Building Disputes Tribunal says the process for resolving leaky home disputes is not working and the Government needs to step in.
John Green, who has also been a mediator with the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, told Nine to Noon on Tuesday that disputes are expensive, often take years and settlements are not usually enough to fix the problem.
Mr Green said the Government should offer low-interest or even no-interest loans to allow homeowners to fix their rotting houses and argue about liability afterwards.
He said the problem affects about 89,000 New Zealand homes and is set to cost more than $11 billion, so the state has a responsibility to take a lead role.
A spokesperson for Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson says a paper to go to the Cabinet shortly will look at various options for resolving the crisis.
However, he said Mr Williamson does not want to prejudge the outcome of those discussions by commenting now.
The Labour Party says the Government came to power promising to fix the leaky homes crisis but is failing to deliver on those raised expectations.
However, housing spokesperson Phil Twyford admitted the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, set up under the previous Labour-led government, is not working as well as was intended.
Mr Twyford said is time for a fresh approach and the Government has a moral responsibility to step in.
