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Homebuyers beware
12 November 2005
By LEIGH van der STOEP
North Shore City Council is urging homebuyers to keep a lookout for houses with illegal modifications.
Council compliance and monitoring team leader David Frith says the problem is rampant on the Shore and is causing a major fire hazard.
The warning comes after a Glenfield man was fined $13,000 for illegally converting his Seaview Rd house into two separate dwellings, each with its own kitchen.
Kam Fai Leung was fined $6000 for breaching the Resource Management Act 1991 and $7000 under the Building Act 2004.
Leung appeared in the Auckland District Court last Friday before Judge Fred McElrea and pleaded guilty to carrying out work to his house without resource consent.
Mr Frith says Leung had obtained consent to extend his house from a three-bedroom and rumpus to a seven-bedroom with rumpus.
But after council building inspectors had checked and approved this work during a final inspection, Leung divided the house up and added an extra kitchen.
Mr Frith says that without correct fireproofing the additional kitchen could have been dangerous.
"Mr Leung also had the misfortune of breaching the district plan rule of the number of units you can have on a property."
Mr Frith urges anyone looking to buy a house to check the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) for any illegal additions to a property.
He says if there are any parts of the building that do not match up to what is documented in the LIM report, it is cause for concern.
The council is investigating "a few dozen" cases of illegal building works, he says.
"We won't tolerate the flouting of the building regulations, which often result in poor workmanship and buildings that are not safe for the occupants."
While a fire could potentially start in any home, correct fireproofing would give the occupants precious time to safely escape, he says.
He says there have been recent examples of illegal modifications resulting in devastating fires.
The council is investigating a suspected electrical fire that gutted a Belmont home last month and has been connected with illegal living arrangements.
The house's single basement garage had been converted into a flat and rented out to a pair of students for $370 a fortnight.
Fire investigators say the flat had no cooking facilities and only a toilet, shower and sink.
Mr Frith says he hopes Leung's hefty fine serves as a warning to other homeowners.
"Nobody likes prosecuting people but he had to be dealt with through the courts," Mr Frith says.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,...2a6016,00.htmll
12 November 2005
By LEIGH van der STOEP
North Shore City Council is urging homebuyers to keep a lookout for houses with illegal modifications.
Council compliance and monitoring team leader David Frith says the problem is rampant on the Shore and is causing a major fire hazard.
The warning comes after a Glenfield man was fined $13,000 for illegally converting his Seaview Rd house into two separate dwellings, each with its own kitchen.
Kam Fai Leung was fined $6000 for breaching the Resource Management Act 1991 and $7000 under the Building Act 2004.
Leung appeared in the Auckland District Court last Friday before Judge Fred McElrea and pleaded guilty to carrying out work to his house without resource consent.
Mr Frith says Leung had obtained consent to extend his house from a three-bedroom and rumpus to a seven-bedroom with rumpus.
But after council building inspectors had checked and approved this work during a final inspection, Leung divided the house up and added an extra kitchen.
Mr Frith says that without correct fireproofing the additional kitchen could have been dangerous.
"Mr Leung also had the misfortune of breaching the district plan rule of the number of units you can have on a property."
Mr Frith urges anyone looking to buy a house to check the Land Information Memorandum (LIM) for any illegal additions to a property.
He says if there are any parts of the building that do not match up to what is documented in the LIM report, it is cause for concern.
The council is investigating "a few dozen" cases of illegal building works, he says.
"We won't tolerate the flouting of the building regulations, which often result in poor workmanship and buildings that are not safe for the occupants."
While a fire could potentially start in any home, correct fireproofing would give the occupants precious time to safely escape, he says.
He says there have been recent examples of illegal modifications resulting in devastating fires.
The council is investigating a suspected electrical fire that gutted a Belmont home last month and has been connected with illegal living arrangements.
The house's single basement garage had been converted into a flat and rented out to a pair of students for $370 a fortnight.
Fire investigators say the flat had no cooking facilities and only a toilet, shower and sink.
Mr Frith says he hopes Leung's hefty fine serves as a warning to other homeowners.
"Nobody likes prosecuting people but he had to be dealt with through the courts," Mr Frith says.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,...2a6016,00.htmll
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