Monday, August 30, 2010

The ballance of law

It is pretty clear that in our view Housing New Zealand while in court and under oath made several statements that both mislead the Adjudicator and i would go as far as to claim they knowingly committed perjury and by the adjudicators orders their claims were a big part of the way the order was made.

  1. HNZ claimed we denied access to contractors.
    This is clearly not correct and can be backed up by a transcript where the contractor clearly states NO to the question of having been denied access.
  2. The windows and Rot have been repaired in all rooms.
    In the first hearing HNZ claimed that they had repaired all windows and rot even after seeing that there were still problems only a week prior to the hearing and taking photos of the problems. When I queried this HNZ clearly stated that the repairs were made prior to their last visit however their photos showed that the repairs were not done at all and even several months on they have still not been completed.
  3. Damage to Vehicles.
    A contractor working for HNZ damaged both vehicles by spilling cement on them from the roof. HNZ claimed that we never informed them of the damage to one of the vehicles despite having called the HNZ manager Robert Redford and telling him myself as well as calling the 0800 number and informing them.
These are only three of the instances to which there is substantial evidence to back up my claim however when the courts were contacted about the matter they informed me that if I wished to make a complaint regarding perjury against HNZ I would need to go to the police station.

After visiting the police station and spending some time there they refused to take the complaint stating that such a complaint would need to be handled by the courts directly.

This may sound like nit picking to some however the fact that officials working for a government agency and in a such a position with these responsibility begin to show signs of low morals even by just lying under oath there is a very serious chance for corruption in that sector.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Flooding under the house

If the water under the house were any deeper Council would require a fence around it.

But seriously we have been battling with this one for some 7 years and I'm sure this is the cause of many of the other problems. We have had contractor after contractor looking at the problem and still the problem has not been resolved.

On Monday a contractor from Spotless turned up with a builder stating that the way to resolve the problem was to put a drain in the front of the house and divert the water flow, this is pretty much the same conclusion as was given by the expert we hired prior to going to the Tenancy Tribunal.

However Housing New Zealand seem insistent on just filing up the hole, It seems to be the way they opperate and instead of fixing the issue they just hide it. These problems don't just go away if you cover them up.

Then today the person who came over from Spotless arrived to examine the window sill and was also asked to look at under the house. His comments intrigued me as he was of the view that Housing New Zealand wanted to just fill the hole up and concrete over the top. I don't have a problem with that and in all honesty gives me more storage space BUT the issue of flooding is not likely to be resolved by doing this.

Cement that has such a heavy flow of water under it is likely to be compromised as the water will wash away the sediment under it, in addition the cement unless sealed will just absorb the water and although you may not see the ponding the water will still evaporate much like water in a sponge.

Here are a few photos of the flooding we have been living with under the house.
The last image is of the underfloor insulation that was installed only around 6 months ago and is already showing signs of mold growth as well as rusty staples.




Rot Repaired acording to Housing New Zealand

Earlier today an inspector from Spotless who are the contractors to Housing New Zealand some over to examine the work repair work to the window sill. I pointed out to him that the paint was cracked around where the bog/filler was put in and that the while paint has a brown stain in it from the rot underneath.

I also showed him the photos below in the previous post so he could see the extent of the rot.

His comments were pretty much the same as we have heard from almost every other builder and expert in that the internal walls need to be striped back in order to access the damage as it is likely the damage extends further than what can be seen and the window frames should be replaced as well as the windows as the aluminium frames were warped and this is what is causing them not to close and seal properly.

However after going away and talking to Housing New Zealand they consider the job to have been done and feel the rot has been repaired and have instructed him to do nothing further.

So in essence someone that sits behind a desk and is likely not to have any building qualifications has decided to ignore the recommendation of a professional and take shortcuts that not only could pose a health hazard but will in tile compromise the integrity of the building and diminish its value.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Update Rotting Window Frames in Housing New Zealand House

These photos are AFTER the repeairs have taken place.

The contractors have been and gone, they may be back to put another coat of paint on the sill and remove their masking tape however it has become immediately apparent that there is still an underlying problem.

Firstly a brown train has begun to appear through the wood and from it location I would say that this is caused by the wet rotted wood underneath that was not removed.

The second problem is that the bog has cracked and separated from the wood around the edges.



Saturday, August 21, 2010

Rotting Window Frames in Housing New Zealand House

This has been an ongoing battle for us as most of the bedroom's have extensive rot in the window frames caused by the excess buildup of moisture in the house and leaking windows. We have requested that the Rot be repaired several times resulting in Housing New Zealand sending a contractor our to scrape away the rot and fill the hole with filler or bog.

I have no problem with this method of repair if its done properly however the fact that within a short time frame wither the rot returns or the surrounding area begins or continued to degrade means that the job was not completed correctly in the first place.

There are also issues such as the symptoms such as the rot have been repaired but the cause remains.

Yesterday after months of battling and claims in court by the tenancy manager stating that the rot had been repaired contractors turned up to finally conduct these repairs. It is not my place to ensure the work is done correctly but keeping in mind that this rot is in a bed room and as a family we are already suffering from some nasal infections and respiratory problems I decided to take a few photos of the repair.

Originally the contractors stated that the entire frame should be replaced as the rot is extensive however HNZ sent a work order for them to just bog up the problem. As you will see in the photos this has been done several times before as there is existing bog work.


This is pretty much the extent to which the rot was scraped out before the hole was filled, it is pretty clear that not all of the rot was removed and that the problem penetrates muchh deeper than is visible as there is substantial rot underneath the are that was previously filled.


Anyone with even partial knowledge of handyman work or building knows that you can not or should not bog over wet wood. The dark patch in the corner is wet rotted wood and is very soft. This was not removed before filling and I suspect that if it had been the hole  and possibly rot would have extended through the sill and into the framing.

To my knowledge the wood used for sills is 25mm thick pine, the depth of the visible are is pretty close to that.

A quick search on the net turns up many articles as to how to repair rotten window sills, probably the simplest one and easiest to follow is one from Diane Stevens published on eHow.
http://www.ehow.com/how_6457338_repair-rotten-window-sills.html

Although this process uses a specific repair kit it highlights the fact that the remaining wood needs to be be stabilised and the assumption can be made that this is to prevent further or continuing rot.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Housing New Zealand claimed we denied access

Following a the formal notification from Tenancy Tribunal in their order and a letter that forwarded to me from Housing New Zealand claiming we had denied access to the property for contractors to undertake repairs I thought it prudent to publish the transcript between myself and the Housing New Zealand contractor.

This information was provided to the Adjudicator and both the Tenancy Manager Katrina O'Connor and the Manager of the Panmure Branch Robert Redford were informed that we had not denied access and given the opportunity to rectify their statement but seem to have ignored this.

Whilst in court and under oath Katrina O'Connor whilst representing Housing New Zealand on at least two occasions claimed that we had denied access to contractors.

Here is an extract from a transcript of a recording between myself and Housing New Zealands Contractor.

Andrew:
That’s good. That’s good. Hey just had some issues come up, we’ve been going through some of the bits and pieces and doing some preparation, we’ve been told by Housing that they have cancelled the work order because we denied access.
Contractor:
No, what I said was I emailed them and told them that you weren’t happy with the way that it was going to be to just have the hole filled up so that’s why as far as I know they’ve cancelled it. I’m not too sure. That’s as far as I’ve gone with it so …
Andrew:
Right, OK. No, they’re claiming and stating and certainly got written in their notes on the system that we denied access to the builders to be able to fill it up.
Contractor:
No, I just said to them that you weren’t going to be happy with what was done so there wasn’t much point in us doing the job so … they’ve got the notes for that so …

Monday, August 16, 2010

Tenancy Matters with Housing New Zealand and Tenancy Services

Some 9 or so years ago our family ran in to some strife and needed to move house pretty quickly. We were lucky at the time to be offered and able to move in to a government owned house managed by Housing New Zealand. The first winter came and we had issues with excess condensation and moisture that appears to have been partly caused by the lack of insulation in the house as well as water ponding under the house. On the walls and the roof there is a mold that grows as well as a rotten smell under the house.
We brought this to the attention of Housing NZ who i will refer to in the future as HNZ some 7 years ago and after promises to have the matter remedied nothing to date has been done other than frequent visits from contractors stating what should be done to resolve the problem.

Out of frustration we decided to finally lodge a complaint with the arm of the courts who are responsible for hearing tenancy matters "Tenancy Tribunal" who essentially first try to mediate the matter then hear the case in court and make the appropriate orders that can then be enforced.

The mediation was a waste of time in that the representative from HNZ claims she had no idea as to what they were there for despite having been given a 10 day notice to remedy the faults with the house. Once mediation has failed the next step is to hand the matter up to an arbitrator. This was done and a hearing date was set.

During the arbitration process both my wife and I were concerned that the arbitrator denied us the ability to enter in to evidence the recorded conversations between HNZ and ourselves showing that there indeed was an issue and that we had notified HNZ of these issues including a leaking/problematic toilet that we replaced at our own cost as HNZ did not remedy the problem in a timely manner.

Later during the hearing the representative from HNZ claimed while under oath that the leaking windows and rotten wood in the window sills had been repaired however this was not the case and she well knew it as at her last visit just prior to the hearing she poked her finger through the rot in the wood in the master bedroom.

HNZ stated that the bathroom and bedrooms were to be remodeled and this would take care of any remaining rot, mold and dampness problems in the bedrooms.

We were accused by HNZ of denying access to contractors and allowing them to complete their job however according to the contractor this is not the case and he declined to do the job as the window frame that had fallen apart if repaired in the manner he was instructed to would have posed a danger to my son who sleeps below it and who was previously almost severely injured when the frame fell apart while opening it.

The Adjudicator created an interim order on the matter and although we compromised on several points we were happy to at least make some headway however over the coming and allocated 6 weeks the primary problems were not dealt with or resolved.

A second hearing took place that was supposed to result in finalising the matters and enforcement orders being drawn up for work that had not been completed however we also had to bring to the attention of the courts matters whereas HNZ had sent contractors to the property without notifying us and these contractors committed  not only theft but damaged property that belonged to us.
In addition as the flooding under the house had not been repaired we enlisted the assistance of an independent building inspector to provide a report of the problem and make a suggestion as to cause and repair. This seems to have been ignored by the adjudicator.

One of the contractors who were to repair leaks and problems with the roof snapped off a 2.1m mast, removed a satellite mast and spilt cement on the roof of both of our vehicles. Regardless of us providing photos of the damage the adjudicator plays this down and he claims we did not attempt to wash the vehicle despite having been told we did on one vehicle but can’t do this to the other one. Regardless he dismisses any compensation for this damage.

At the close of the second hearing the Adjudicator said his ruling would follow however after a month of waiting nothing had been provided to us. We contacted the principal tenancy adjudicator to find out what the delay was and if this was normal then two weeks after this we received the ruling. It clearly appears that the adjudicator has ignored all evidence provided by us and has not made his ruling in an impartial manner. His ruling contradicts what was stated in court regarding contractors having to give notice before work is done and to be honest regardless of the spelling and grammatical errors in the document it seems that the ruling is a little one sided and more of an attack on me personally.

Most of our requests have been dismissed and the promise in court that the bedrooms would be remodeled has  been dropped leaving us with mold and mildew build-up and the rot in the visible woodwork is only to be scraped out then bogged and painted over. In my sons room this has previously been done only a year or so ago and the bog is now rotting. The windows still do not close because the frames are badly warped and instead of putting drainage under the house they intend on just filling the holes with dirt regardless of being told by their own contractors that this is unlikely to solve the problem and having been given the independent report we paid for.

In order to have under the house fixed we needed to more all our personal belongings out and have had to store them outside, the adjudicator states that we could store it in the shed as that is what HNZ have suggested but there is no space in there.

To add insult to injury he makes specific reference to the fact we have declined access to contractors to fix the problems despite having been given evidence to show we did not deny access and being told this during the hearing.

Our faith in the New Zealand legal system , fairness and equality has really gone out the window with this matter. We have been told we have the right to appeal but honestly would you? The fact is after 7 years of trying to get some resolve, promises and abuse from HNZ’s tenancy managers and their dirty tactics we are fed up. If we had another option we would grab it with both hands but as a low income family we do not and have to deal with the what is feed to us.

We have even tried to take this matter to a ministerial level and despite promises that something would be done just get to see a lot of buck passing and no action. HNZ sent a response to the minister’s office stating that we denied access and we sent back a response and evidence showing this was not the case however nothing is being done. The HNZ representatives were free to commit at least 2 counts of what i consider to be perjury and have not been held accountable for this either by their bosses or the courts yet is it were you or I who did this we would be in deep trouble.

Attached are some of the documents and evidence presented including photos of the damage to vehicles, flooding and other supporting evidence.

Statement outlining problems to Tennancey Tribunal
This was our accompanying document to the Tennacey Tribunal outlining the problems with the house and requesting HNZ remidy them. This also highlights the vindictive nature of the tennancey manager.
Refreance Photos for the above statement

Interum Orders from Tennancey Tribunal to be carried out within 6 weeks
The interum orders were put in place however only some of the work was done.

Statement for Continuance
Statement for continuance and highliting/clarifiying issues as well as informing the tribunal of the damage caused by contractors.

Final Order from Tennancey Tribunal
It appears that much of the evidence we provided has been ignored by the adjudicator such as photos of the damage to the car where cement was spilled in it, we stated in court that one of the cars had been washed. Also that in our view HNZ commited Purgery and we later provided a transcript from the HNZ contractor stating that we did not deny access to the property.

It is hard not to take the comments made by the Adjudicator personally and I find the tone somewhat unprofessional for an officer of the New Zealand Court.