Michael Beazley and Deborah Wai Kapohe received a phone call from a Department of Building and Housing representative yesterday, confirming their house was a leaky home and in need of full re-cladding.
"In fact, we have a very leaky home. The whole thing's going to have to be pulled apart," Ms Wai Kapohe told the Otago Daily Times. "It's as bad as it gets." The confirmation came after the couple lodged a complaint with the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) - administered by the DBH - and had their house inspected by an assessor earlier this year.
The couple were yet to receive a copy of the assessor's full report, but expected to do so within days, Ms Wai Kapohe said.
A department spokeswoman declined to comment yesterday, but said the couple were free to release any information they received.
The couple, who had been living in Australia, bought the $550,000 house late last year, and moved in with their two children in December.
Within days, they discovered the first signs of leaking, cracks and toxic mould, followed by a long list of faults and a paper trail that raised concerns about the way the building was approved by the Dunedin City Council.
The couple bought it after checking it had a code of compliance certificate issued by the council confirming the house met building code requirements, but began discovering faults soon after moving in.
Ms Wai Kapohe said the next steps, once the report was received, would be to distribute copies to all parties, including builders, previous owners and the council, and begin initial discussions about how the matter could best be resolved.
That could involve private one-on-one negotiations, the use of the WHRS tribunal and mediation services, or private court action initiated against one or more of the parties, she said.
"We've always been open to whatever's the best solution," she said.
It was hoped a settlement could be reached in one year, although other cases had sometimes taken up to three years to resolve, she said.
"We're hoping we're not going to be that long. It would be a real shame." The couple had already written to the council requesting a rental "safe house" to live in, paid for by the council, while their home was repaired, but the request was rebuffed.
Last month, they emerged from a meeting with Mayor Dave Cull and council staff saying progress had been made, even though the council rejected the couple's request to buy their home and allow them to move on.
Yesterday, Mr Cull said he was "pleased the process is working for them and we're coming to a conclusion".
"Council has always said that, if it had any liability, it would meet that liability; it would honour it through the process.
"Now that we've had that confirmed I guess we move on to the next stage in the process, and I hope we can do it as fast as we can for their sake."Council city environment general manager Tony Avery said staff would discuss "where to from here" with the couple once staff had received a copy of the report and sought whatever advice was needed on the findings "and any implications for the council".
In the meantime, Ms Wai Kapohe said whether the family remained in their home would depend on the contents of the full report.
"It's about the safety issues. If the report raises safety issues ... we'll have to work out what we're going to do."
A full re-cladding of the home meant it would need to be "pulled apart", during which time more damage could be found, Ms Wai Kapohe said.
The couple had already received one quote of $563,700 to repair the home, from Auckland-based leaky home re-cladding specialists Reconstruct.
The assessor's findings came with only one small silver lining, Ms Wai Kapohe said: "At least we know we're not going mad."
