Perth construction company Nicheliving has failed to get its registration renewed after the building regulator found the company could not meet its financial obligations. A home builder will not be able to any building work that needs a permit or sign any new contracts. But with more than 230 unfinished homes on its book, customers are scrambling for answers.
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00:00Jenny Lee thought she'd be in her dream home three years ago.
00:07These weeds are marvellous, they're about the only thing that have kept this place going.
00:11They grow better than the building does.
00:13But her home in Tapping in Perth's north is a long-term construction site.
00:18I actually stopped driving past because it was just so depressing.
00:22Customers first raised concerns last year about lengthy construction delays.
00:27Crimes and debts escalated in the last few months, investigations revealing the company
00:32owes the tax office alone almost $4 million.
00:36We've given the company many opportunities to come back and give us additional information
00:40to reassure us and the board that we can meet their debt when we fold you, and in this case
00:44we didn't.
00:46Customers can now access up to $200,000 from Home Indemnity Insurance.
00:51It's unacceptable that people who enter into a contract with this company under the expectation
00:58that they'll have a home built have been waiting so long, and I'm at least now pleased we're
01:02past that stage and we can get on with it.
01:06Neither the company nor its directors responded to requests for comment.
01:12The ABC sought answers at the home of one of the managing directors.
01:17Hello?
01:18Yes, hello?
01:19Hello, hello, is that Ronnie?
01:20No, it's not.
01:21Ronnie, it is you, it's Alicia Hanson from ABC Mornings.
01:24Can you please tell me how you feel about leaving people for years with no homes?
01:28Sorry, can I just say to you, can you please leave the premises?
01:31You're trespassing.
01:32The government hopes the insurance will be enough to help customers finish their homes.
01:37One of the people who may be able to access that insurance, the wife of Niche Living Company
01:42director Ronnie Michelle Elhage, she's the landowner for this home under construction
01:47with workers currently on site right now.
01:50For customers who've had their homes delayed, it's hard to comprehend.
01:54I don't think it's fair, but that is the law.
01:57Ms Lee just wants it to be over and plans to sell her home if it's finished.