HOBANZ Fighting Fund

THIS APPEAL WAS EFFECTIVELY PUT ON HOLD BUT WATCH THIS SPACE ...

Nicola Sharp needs your help. Her house is leaky - have a look at the gallery page, showing the inside of her walls. But her situation doesn't have to be hopeless.

WHAT WILL THE MONEY BE USED FOR?

This appeal is to raise money to support Nicola’s legal case and will benefit all those who follow.

Nicola’s case is currently in the High Court, and she is being supported by HOBANZ (see below). HOBANZ is aiming to create a Litigation Support Fund to help take the stress off people like Nicola and so they can support more cases like Nicola’s in the future.

Two of the defendants in Nicola’s case have applied to strike out the High Court case, arguing that the claims cannot be sustained. Nicola is trying to fight that application but this is stretching her financial resources to the limit.

If the court considers that the claims are sustainable that’s good news for Nicola and for the many others who follow.

WHAT IF NICOLA WINS? WON'T SHE GET COSTS?

First, that’s a big “if”!

Second, the way the system works she won’t get all her costs back even if she does win. Even if she has the opportunity to settle before the hearing, Nicola she is unlikely to get back the money she has already spent fighting her claim. As a result she may not be able to keep the home she bought for herself and her daughter to live in.

And if there are any surplus funds once Nicola gets through this, these will be put to very good use by HOBANZ to help others like Nicola to fight for justice.

WHO IS HOBANZ AND WHAT DOES THE ORGANISATION DO?

HOBANZ stands for the Homeowners and Buyers Association of New Zealand Inc. – it is a not-for-profit organisation formed for and by people like Nicola. Its stated goal is protecting the interests of buyers, owners and occupiers of New Zealand homes.

HOBANZ began as a two-man lobby group for owners of leaky and defective homes. These days it has become a multi-skilled agency which manages leaky building remediation projects, provides support services to bodies corporate, and advocates for people like Nicola and countless others.

See www.hobanz.org.nz for more.

WHERE WILL THE MONEY BE HELD?

All funds will be held and administered by HOBANZ to ensure they are applied for the purpose intended by this campaign. If more funds than required for Nicola’s case are received, then the balance will go towards future cases. Sadly, there are many more cases like Nicolas to be fought.

IS MY DONATION TAX DEDUCTIBLE?

Yes. HOBANZ has Donee status with the IRD. HOBANZ will issue a tax receipt for all donations.

HOW BIG IS THE LEAKY HOME PROBLEM?

HOBANZ was born out of this true plague affecting our housing stock, and therefore our lives.

• Nationwide 400,950 new dwellings were built in the high risk period from 1992 to 2008.

• Based on national statistics approximately 185,000 of these homes will have exterior walls clad with a monolithic type cladding systems which are most prone to fail and according to the PWC Report released in 2009 approximately 25% of them are likely to fail.

• The view of the many experts is that a vast majority (110,000) of homes built between 1992 and 2005 will suffer some form of failure – hence the PWC estimate that up to 89,000 homes nationally will fail.

The 2009 PWC report sets out the extraordinary scale of the problem. The Beehive media release includes this sobering assessment: “Based on 42,000 failures, the report estimates the total economic costs of fixing the affected homes at $11.3 billion in 2008 dollars.”

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/review-reinforces-government-action-weathertightness

And here’s a link to the 2009 PWC report itself.

http://repository.digitalnz.org/system/uploads/record/attachment/485/department_of_building_and_housing__weathertightness___estimating_the_cost.pdf

A ROTTEN SHAME

On this link you’ll find an investigative documentary aired on TVNZ in 2011 called A Rotten Shame. The documentary, fronted by HOBANZ President John Gray, sets out to discover how the leaky home situation arose and sought to find answers for the many thousands of home-owners affected by this nationwide disaster.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnZTqKo3_oI

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT667OjSh4k

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtEKeqaQWJg

Nicola is taking legal action against the following parties:

• a real estate agent

• a real estate and marketing company

• a body corporate committee member & chairperson

• a body corporate management company

• and Nicola’s solicitors