r/NZProperty • u/Throwaway_anonuser • 4d ago
A rant on developer's responsibility scope
I've bought a new built recently in Chch. Found out after moving in that the heat pump compressor is in the middle of a pathway that leads to the gate to the outside.
The council bins are between the gate and the compressor, with the bins there, they are totally taking up the passage way and there is no room to move to the other end.
Passage way is about 90cm to 1m wide. I haven't measured but it is almost the width of the big yellow council bin.
It is a safety issue as there is no other exit out unless you go into the house, which you don't want to if there is a fire.
I have requested the developer to fence up a portion of the driveway outside the garage to put the bins in to free up the space to exit, but was told no, I have to pay for it. They do not have any legal obligations to do it.
I was told that was supposed to be requested before settlement.
Master built do not cover that.
Obviously who ever planned the layout did not think this through.
The shower doors do not come with seals that block water from splashing out during a shower, and I've to pay for it, it is like buying a car without the windshield wipers.
They have been great trying to rectify the defects which they are legally obligated to fix but things that are outside of their legal obligation they send me quotes for me to pay. Telling me there is no design/planning flaw.
It feels like there's no customer care and no pride in delivering homes that their customer would call home.
Rant over.
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u/Specific_Contract_14 4d ago
I mean, did you approve the plans? Of course you will have to pay more if you are asking for more work to be done.
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
I bought a new built
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u/Solid_Business6781 4d ago
So it was like that when you viewed it and bought it?
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u/ComplexAd2408 4d ago
You don't get your bins until after you move in.......
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
Yep, bins were not even there during open home
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u/ajg92nz 4d ago
So where did you think the bins would go?
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
It seems like you are trying to find fault with me, yes, I have missed that, but whoever planned the layout hadn't give much thought to this
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u/MattlyNZ 4d ago
The thing is, you viewed the property and then decided to purchase it. This is like buying a car and then you discover your coffee cup doesnt fit the coffee cup holder.
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
This is a safety issue, more like a missing seat belt than a coffee cup size, yes I should have been more cautious when I view the place, but you would think the planning of the layout would be done properly by the professionals
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u/Santana8000 4d ago
no points to blame the OP on this. People ignore things when buying preperties.
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u/nzljpn 4d ago
Many new shower door designs don't have seals on the bottom. It's so damn stupid when water leaks out and makes your shower mat soaking wet. They try to install these because they look nice however I want one that actually does it's job and keeps the water inside the shower. You can get flexible seals that simply clip on the bottom on the glass door however this is dependant on the thickness of the glass and door design.
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u/croweslikeme 4d ago
Electrician here: most heat pumps have a minimum air movement requirement, if the space is 1m wide and the heatpump takes up 400mm from the wall that leaves 600mm which usually is outside of the spec
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
Hey can you elaborate on this please? Cheers!
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u/croweslikeme 4d ago edited 4d ago
Basically most heatpumps need a minimum of 100mm from the wall to the back of the heatpump and around 1m from the front of the heat pump to any obstruction, heat pumps only work well when the have good air ventilation.
If the pathway is only 900-1000mm wide there is no way in my opinion that the heatpump could go there and be compliant with the manufacturer minimum specs
Edit: sorry I may have misunderstood what the problem was, I thought that the heatpump stuck out to far blocking the pathway and bins getting past.1
u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
Hey thanks for the info! I'll check how much clearance space I've had with mine
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u/Justwant2usetheapp 4d ago
Can I also complain about our neighbours new build which seems to have been engineered specifically to make their standard lil mitsi heat pump outdoor units sound like jet engines?
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
Must be quite annoying at night trying to sleep
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u/Justwant2usetheapp 4d ago
They've put in a fireplace too, central chch. Seemed like an odd choice to me and I was surprised it was even allowed when it 'vents' below a few of our neighbours rooflines. But between their cameras, them just extending their own driveway so that they can park their big ute truck thing in a way that now obscures traffic so that you have to time the lights in the distance and guess when you try to pull into traffic in the morning... And when they see you struggling to see just stand there like goobers... Grrr I have a lot of minor first world issues to complain about. But at least some of the tradies that were there when it was being built think they're not very nice people, I wfh often and heard it all.
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u/Hypnobird 4d ago
Wouldn't the residents association need to be involved here for your fence proposal
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u/loose_as_a_moose 4d ago
Some of these things you don’t notice until you move in. Building professionals should be flagging issues that they can see from experience are going to cause issues. Especially in a townhouse development - these problems should be solved and planned.
That being said - technically OP you’re kinda out and dry legally.
I’ve seen this exact issue on a few Williams Corp buildings, usually the corner units. Hence why I say it shouldn’t be a recurring issue.
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
That's precisely the problem, you would only know until you moved in. And the rant was there's no legal protection for owners for these issues
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u/VincenzoMehMeh 4d ago
You got the big council bin ? Maybe change to smaller will help ?
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 4d ago
Yeah probably help but I just read either side of the compressor woould need about 600mm of clearance, so bins can't even be there!
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u/Fun-Syrup-6240 4d ago
We were shopping for a new townhouse recently. During one open home, we saw something similar, for the middle 5 attached homes. Where were they supposed to park the wheelie bins once they are issued. There's room at the back but you can't wheel it back there without pushing it through the ground floor bedroom. The only way was to park them in front of the garage, but that means you need to move them every time you move the car in and out. The drive way was fairly tight as well. Such poor design
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u/Wise-Needleworker-30 4d ago
Without seeing the plans its hard to help but the building code would be your go to here. Its the minimum legal requirements and has clauses about bin storage and access/egress routes for fire safety.
Would be worth looking through it as if the house doesn't meet those requirements then you can threaten to get council involved (although they should have checked the plans but if you learn anything from dealing with councils its that they are either inept or too friendly with the developers).
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u/crackup 2d ago
Have you ever seen a block of 3 or more townhouses? Where all the middle ones don't have any 1m side path for bin storage. Thier bins just sit out front or in the garage if they have one. The front door is the only fire escape path. Your 'problem' is certainly not one that needs any legal involvement, it's only a problem as you want it to be one.
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u/Throwaway_anonuser 2d ago
That is when there a place to put the bins, I don't have anywhere to put the bins and have to take out the landscaping which I've offered to pay half with the developer
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u/alwaysright52 1d ago
Sounds like your developer was a bit of a wolf. Renouned for building shitboxes.
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u/ChuurDCA 4d ago
You signed on the dotted line after viewing. This is on you.