Asbestos concerns prompt Christchurch council staff to abandon check of Lynda McKenzie's self-help insulation

Thursday, 26 July 2018

First, she insulated a flat council said couldn't be done. When they went to see if it complied, they got to the door before saying asbestos meant they could not test.

A woman's attempt to keep her council flat warm has morphed into cautious concern about a potential asbestos risk.

Christchurch City Council staff were in high vis jackets and hard hats when they visited Lynda McKenzie's council flat at Pickering Courts, St Albans, on Thursday. They were there to assess the insulation she had a contractor install after being told it could not be done.

The six council and Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (OCHT) staff made it to her doorstep - but stopped there due to a newly-discovered potential asbestos risk.

'Because of … our asbestos results for the rest of the complex, even though this unit hasn't been tested, [staff] are not comfortable to come in without a new test,' a council employee told an advocate for McKenzie, as they stood at the flat's entrance.

Lynda McKenzie had her flat insulated after council said it couldn't be done. Now they've called off an assessment as they believe there could be asbestos in the unit.

* She insulated her flat - now she'll be asked to remove it when she goes

* Christchurch council said it couldn't insulate its flat - so Lynda McKenzie got it done herself

* Warmer Kiwi Homes insulation programme will make 52,000 homes warmer**

'We have just found this out so, therefore, we weren't able to put it off earlier. So we're going to have to have that done first.'

McKenzie can still live in her unit.

Council general manager of corporate services Anne Columbus said staff carried out a risk assessment to prepare and inform other agencies about any potential issues.

McKenzie said the insulation had made a 'huge' difference to the warmth of her once cold home.

Other units tested positive for asbestos-containing materials in their ceilings and others had not. Tenants still lived in the properties as, according to Ministry of Health guidelines, materials left undisturbed caused little risk.

'We decided not to enter [McKenzie's] property and undertake the planned assessment of the insulation, as we understand work has taken place in the ceiling of the unit.'

The visit to McKenzie's flat followed Stuff this week reporting McKenzie had her unit insulated after the council said it could not be done.

Council acting head of facilities, property and planning Angus Smith said sloping roofs and exposed rafters meant there was no space for insulation in McKenzie's flat, or in 24 others in the complex.

After the council tests whether there is asbestos in the unit, they will assess the compliance of the insulation.

McKenzie insulated her unit nonetheless: she hired a contractor, who cut a manhole and insulated the ceiling over the course of a day.

Ceiling and underfloor insulation has been a legal requirement in social housing since July 2016. Smith this week said the council was not breaking the law as legislation allowed for exemptions in properties 'not reasonably practicable to insulate without substantial building work'.

Smith did not directly respond to earlier questions about the flat being insulated. No further comment as to whether the council was mistaken about the ability to insulate could be provided before council assessed the flat.

On Thursday, an OCHT staff member told McKenzie's advocate, who did not wish to be named, that her tenancy manager would be in touch to find a 'mutually convenient time' to come back for the asbestos test.

Staff had 'literally just found that out' after arriving at the property on Thursday.

The council will not comment on any effect Lynda's insulation situation might have on her neighbours if it is indeed compliant.

A detailed engineering evaluation, from 2013, shows Pickering Courts was built in 1978. The masonry block walls are lined with timber framing and plasterboard.

The roofs are made from timber rafters and purlins with plywood and corrugated sheet metal on top.

In April, another set of asbestos-ridden Christchurch City Council flats in Linwood remained unoccupied 18 months after contamination was discovered. Two tenants had still not returned to their homes and warning signs remained posted on the doors.

Columbus said all previous testing at Pickering Courts had happened before general maintenance or 'vacant unit evaluations'.

'These units have been remediated and are therefore at no risk to the tenants. This is why it is so important for tenants to seek permission of their landlord to carry out any building or renovation work.'

If no asbestos was found in McKenzie's flat, it would take the council up to a week to compare the completed work with insulation standards.

McKenzie was also asked to agree to restore the flat to the state it was in when she moved into it, if required.

OCHT chief executive Cate Kearney said the letter McKenzie was asked to sign was one required for all tenants who sought permission to make improvements to their properties.

'The trust seeks approval from the [council] and, once approved, asks the tenant to sign a letter to say they will make good the property when they leave, if requested by the [council],' Kearney said.

'Lynda has never sought permission to undertake these current changes to her unit. Therefore we have retrospectively asked her to sign a letter acknowledging [the changes] … This is very standard practice for us.'

No other tenant who had signed the forms had ever been asked to remove appliances or restore their property upon leaving, Kearney said.