A call for city councils to join the Ministry of Education in suing building supply company James Hardie over leaky buildings has the guarded support of Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby.

Building materials company James Hardie is being sued by the Crown for leaky building issues at thousands of schools – including two Papamoa Schools Te Akau Ki Papamoa School and Tahatai Coast School where the city mayor is on the establishment board of trustees.

Tahatai Coast school is one of the schools suffering leak damage.

James Hardie supplies fibre cement products used in the exterior and interior of buildings from exterior cladding and internal lining, bracing and decorative finishes.

Acting education secretary Peter Hughes says the Ministry has lodged a High Court claim against James Hardie and others over $1.5billion in repairs for leaky school buildings.

The ministry faces a repair programme covering more than 800 buildings at 309 schools.

Independent MP Brendan Horan says the Government should encourage city and district councils to join the Ministry of Education 'leaky buildings” lawsuit against James Hardie.

'Councils and ratepayers have also taken huge financial losses for the repair or rebuild of leaky homes featuring James Hardie's alleged defective products,” says Brendan.

'Being able to join the lawsuit would provide a cost-effective and responsible way to recoup some of the costs.

'Why should taxpayers and ratepayers continue to carry the cost for problems caused by companies and developers who exploited deregulation? I'm sure that many of the councils would take up the opportunity to join the lawsuit.”

Stuart says it is worth considering but the council would need to take legal advice and weigh up the costs against the possible outcomes.

Both ratepayers and the council are carrying some of the risk attached to the leaky homes through the government's leaky homes payment scheme, which will see the council paying out in part to successful applicants.

'I'm certainly familiar with the frustration and cost attached to ultimately the taxpayer through the education buildings,” says Stuart.

'Tahatai Coast school was clad in their main product, or part of their product - the board part. Then there was a texture coating put on top of it.”

A number of other Western Bay of Plenty schools have also suffered leaky buildings damage including Otumoetai Intermediate and Primary, Tauranga Girls' College, Te Puke High School, Mount Maunganui College, Tauranga Boys' College and Selwyn Ridge School.