Media Release: Niche Clients Rescue Package

Inquiries: Jason Janssen Chairman Home Builders Action Group 0412 373 404

In an effort to provoke a response from Government, the Home Builders Action Group [HBAG] has added more detail to its NICHE CLIENTS RESCUE PACKAGE.

HBAG Chairman Jason Janssen said:

The Niche Living debacle resulted from a complex series of factors:

1. Well intentioned Government Grants stimulated an already overheated industry driving costs up at rate not previously seen;
2. Builders took on far too much work when the already overstretched home building industry could not complete the homes already on their books;
3. The strait jacket of state government legislation, that is not fit for purpose, prevented justified price rises being passed on, so builders turned their attention to profitable work leaving other loss making contracts;
4. Labour left the industry seeking higher wages; and on
5. Top of everything else COVID-19 impacted the entire economy.

The solution to the NICHE Living debacle is to provide NICHE clients access to their home indemnity insurance and this is what the Government tried to achieve when it decided to deregister NICHE. The State Appeals Tribunal stepped in to prevent the deregistration and NICHE clients are left in limbo while NICHE and the Government remain locked in a legal battle.

The first priority must be to complete the unfinished homes, and the solution lies in an agreement that sees:

• NICHE surrender its building licence to allow its clients to access insurance;
• The Government accept the role it played in provoking the problem and contribute to its solution;
• NICHE contribute reflecting its central role in the problem; and a
• Panel of builders prepared to complete the NICHE homes as cost effectively as possible.

Obviously, NICHE will not surrender its licence if it is to be pursued for the entirety of the insurance payout that results.

It is important to remember that the indemnity insurance is not a grant – premiums for Home Owners Indemnity Insurance are paid for each home commenced and the NICHE situation is exactly what the insurance is designed for.

The alternative is an indefinite delay in finishing the NICHE homes and the continuing difficulty for families paying rent and mortgage repayments while they wait for a home that should have been completed years ago. Their only consolation is that the delay has seen the value of their completed homes rise very substantially.

Damien D’Ascenzo

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN – HBAG
Home Builders Action Group
damien@hbag.com.au
0403 066 028