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Weathertight Issues

Last updated: 1 March 2024

Find out what you can do if you think that you may live in or own a home with weathertight issues.

Weathertight issues, or 'leaky buildings', were a significant public policy and regulatory issue for the first decade of the 2000s. In response, Parliament passed the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service Acts 2002 and 2006 (the Act).

Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006 No 84 (as at 12 April 2022), Public Act – New Zealand Legislation - legislation.govt.nz

Under these Acts, owners of leaky homes could apply to bring a claim; if the claim was accepted, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment provided support to help claimants resolve their weathertight building issues. The deadline to bring a claim expired on 31 December 2021. This means that no new claims can be lodged. The Ministry will continue to support claimants who still have an open claim.

If you think you may have weathertight issues in your home, read Signs of a leaky home for more information.

If you own your home, you may like to contact a building surveyor, who can provide an assessment of your home and advice on next steps at your cost. The New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors website includes contact details for many building surveyors. You may also like to seek legal advice on options that may be available to you.

Registered Building Surveyor » New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors - buildingsurveyors.co.nz

If you are renting and have maintenance concerns with your rental home, speak with your landlord on the issues and work together on the arrangements for any necessary repairs. For more information, see the maintenance and inspections section on the Tenancy Services website.

There are two ways to seek information about a previous weathertight claim:

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This information is published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Chief Executive. It is a general guide only and, if used, does not relieve any person of the obligation to consider any matter to which the information relates according to the circumstances of the particular case. Expert advice may be required in specific circumstances. Where this information relates to assisting people: