Deborah Wai Kapohe, her husband, Michael Beazley, and their two children spent last winter living in one room of their $550,000 home in Glenleith, trying to keep warm while waiting for the outcome of mediation aimed at reaching a settlement.
The arrival of summer had allowed the family to make more use of the rest of their house, but Mr Beazley told the Otago Daily Times a mediation hearing was now not expected until late March.
The couple had hoped a resolution might be reached by Christmas, but the mediation process had dragged on, and, if talks failed, an adjudication process would be needed, Ms Wai Kapohe said.
That would mean a date for adjudication later this year, and a second winter living in one room, something the couple and their children were dreading, she said.
"It's just been so traumatic.
It's just terrible. In March, we're approaching autumn, aren't we?"
Mr Beazley said water inside the home's cladding meant it became a "freezer" in cold weather.
"It would be cruel for our daughters and us to live in a wet house through another Dunedin winter."
The couple bought their home late in 2010 after checking it had a code of compliance certificate issued by the council.
However, they soon discovered the first signs of cracks, leaks, toxic mould, followed by a list of other faults, and last April their house was declared a leaky home following an inspection by a Weathertight Homes Resolution Service assessor.
Repairs could cost more than the home's purchase price, with one quote for $563,700 received from Auckland-based leaky home recladding specialists Reconstruct.
Ms Wai Kapohe said the continuing tussle over responsibility for the repair bill had taken its toll. Both of them had abandoned their studies at the University of Otago - the reason they moved to Dunedin.
Mr Beazley had suffered health problems believed to be related to the stress of the situation, Ms Wai Kapohe said.
"[His] immune system began to fail ... He had glandular fever, blood poisoning, the flu and asthma all at the same time. He coughed so hard that months later his larynx is still torn and he coughs up blood," she said.
The family spent a month from mid-November in Auckland, while Ms Wai Kapohe - a professional singer - worked, but otherwise the couple planned to remain in their home until a resolution was reached.
Council chief executive Paul Orders and operations general manager Tony Avery were not available for comment yesterday.
Council city strategy and development general manager Sue Bidrose said little could be said while mediation continued, but both the council and the family were working through the process in good faith.
