Skip to content.
Return to Department of Building and Housing home page.

New Weathertight Homes Resolution Service Act 2006

Changes are being made to the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) with the enactment of the WHRS Act 2006 on 18 December 2006.

A major review of the WHRS undertaken in 2005 resulted in the proposed enhancements to the WHRS announced earlier this year - focused on getting non-weathertight homes fixed as early as possible, settling disputes faster, and enhancing consumer protection.

The changes are designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the service and deliver better outcomes for owners of non-weathertight homes at every stage of the claims process - including more comprehensive and robust assessments, improved information and guidance services, a reduction in the average time for claims to be resolved, and lowering of legal and evidential costs.

Key measures in the new Act are:

Assessment

  • providing more comprehensive assessor reports for WHRS claimants
  • allowing people to claim for potential, as well as actual, weathertightness- related damage.

Claims management

  • improved information, assistance and guidance
  • allowing bodies corporate to take a class action approach with regard to apartment blocks
  • allowing claims relating to multi-unit complexes that will not be eligible under new criteria to be withdrawn and be brought under the correct provision within 1  year without affecting limitation periods.

Dispute resolution

  • introducing a new streamlined process for lower-value claims
  • establishing a new Weathertight Homes Tribunal under the administration of the Ministry of Justice to provide more independent adjudication services
  • introducing a new adjudication process for standard claims provided by the Tribunal, involving compulsory preliminary conferences and time-limited mediation before claims move to a hearing
  • enhancing the power and authority of members of the new Tribunal, including new criminal offence provisions when parties fail to appear when summoned or disobey an order of the Tribunal
  • having clear objectives for Tribunal members to facilitate a more investigative approach
  • allowing WHRS settlements and determinations to be enforced in the District Court regardless of value.

Consumer information and protection

  • requiring territorial authorities to place WHRS notices of existing and new claims made to the WHRS, and their outcomes where known, on Land Information Memorandum reports  

 

  • enabling the Chief Executive of the Department of Building and Housing to access information on mediation settlements for research and evaluation purposes, and to publish this data subject to confidentiality requirements.

The initial Amendment Bill and WHRS Act 2002 have been integrated to form the new WHRS Act 2006, which is more accessible and easier to understand. If you are interested, the new Act should be available on the website www.legislation.govt.nz by the end of January 2007, or you can download it here WHRS Act 2006 [PDF 408 KB, 101 pages], or it can be purchased from Bennetts Bookshop.

Now that the legislation has been enacted, it is expected that the WHRS enhancements will be implemented on 1 April 2007. 

Improvements to the WHRS are part of a wider programme of work to reform the building and construction industry and ensure that homes are built right first time.

Other key measures include:

  • introducing an information programme aimed at consumers affected by non-weathertightness
  • investigating options to increase the availability and take-up of home warranty insurance
  • raising the bar for industry through licensing those who design and build, while protecting New Zealand’s DIY tradition
  • setting new standards for our buildings through a review of the New Zealand Building Code
  • strengthening the building consent process through accreditation and monitoring.