Summary: <br> Auckland landlord Lachlan Chung has been fined more than $5000 after renting out a damp and mouldy flat to a mother and 16-month old baby.<br> <br> <br> <br> When the mum moved in she became unwell and had an air test carried out at the Mt Eden property. Biodet Services found the property had dangerous levels of penicillium and aspergillus mould according to a Tenancy Tribunal hearing.<br> <br> <br> <br> The mother and child moved out of the property for the sake of their health; breaking a lease agreement. A tenant can terminate a fixed term tenancy if the home is uninhabitable according to the Residential Tenancies Act.<br> <br> <br> <br> Andrew McIntyre of Forensic Building Services told the tenancy Tribunal bedrooms at the property should not be used until the damp subfloor under the house was fixed and said the flat is not suitable for human habitation.<br> <br> <br> <br> Chung told the Tribunal underfloor insulation couldn’t be installed due to there being a concrete floor; but the Tribunal later heard there is no concrete floor under the property. Chung was ordered to pay the woman $2858 in compensation for the false insulation statement and refund her $2200 bond.<br> <br> <br> <br> Median values up Median house values across New Zealand rose 6.6% in the year to September to $597,000 according to industry lobby group the Real Estate Institute. Take Auckland out of the equation and values were up 6.8% to a record high of $500,000.<br> <br> <br> <br> Median house values in Auckland increased 0.2% during the past 12 months to $848,000. According to figures supplied by the institute record median prices were seen in Manawatu, Southland, and Taranaki. Hawke’s Bay saw its median value up by more than 13% to $500,000. There were some value drops though; namely the West Coast: -7.5% to $185,000; Northland: -5.5% to $477,000 and Nelson: -5.4% to $560,000.<br> <br> <br> <br> Fletcher Building Fletcher Building has opened a home building factory in Auckland and plans to build 500 homes a year. The factory cost $15 million and will employ 35 people.<br> <br> <br> <br> Fletcher Building says using the Clever Core facility means it can build the main elements of a new home in 6 weeks. The sections – such as walls, floors, roof and partitions – can then be delivered to a building site and be bolted together. Things such as bad weather won’t affect construction times. The company will use the facility for its own Fletcher Living housing developments, but may decide to take orders from other firms down the track.<br> <br> <br> <br> Fletcher is working with Auckland Council to streamline the consenting process.<br> <br> <br> <br> Red tape to be cut<br> <br> <br> <br> The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government plans to cut through some of the red tape of the Building Act next year.<br> <br> <br> <br> It wants to make the building of prefab homes easier with a streamlined consenting process and reduce the number of building inspections needed.<br> <br> <br> <br> Prefabrication and off-site manufacturing are the future of construction says the government. Among those welcoming the change is Tranzasia Corporation.<br> <br> <br> <br> The company says it has orders for modular homes but the problems of gaining consent have held up sales and marketing for months.<br> <br> <br> <br> Kiwisaver First-time buyers are often advised to buy a property somewhere other than where they want to live and rent it out as a way of getting on the property ladder.<br> <br> <br> <br> But Kiwisaver can only currently be used toward buying a home to live in. However, this may be about to change.<br> <br> <br> <br> Interim Retirement Commissioner Peter Cordtz says the rules should be relaxed.
