Clients’ ‘torture’ as WA tribunal considers Nicheliving’s plea to stay registered

The State Administration Tribunal will meet next week to consider a desperate plea from embattled builder Nicheliving to stop the revocation of its building registration.

The Building Services Board revealed last week it would not renew the registration because the company had amassed a $4 million tax debt.

But at a directions hearing on Tuesday, the tribunal heard that number had almost doubled with the Attorney-General’s office telling Justice Kathleen Glancy that Niche Holdings owed the Australian Taxation office more than $7 million.

While a de-registration would mean clients with unfinished homes could then access home indemnity insurance to hire another builder to complete construction, Nicheliving’s lawyer Martin Cuerden SC said customers would suffer.

“Our 215 customers are not going to be better off, they are going to be substantially worse off if we are unable to complete the works,” he said.

“There is evidence there of the impracticability of new builders undertaking work in a cost-effective way.”

But Orelia homeowner Richard Hamilton, who has been waiting for his home’s completion since December 2020, said Nicheliving’s bid to overturn the deregistration was frustrating.

“This is a very emotionally traumatic experience for everybody,” he said.

“It’s a kind of torture, this situation. It’s almost like a situation of emotional abuse that this is dragging out, and we are quite angry that Nicheliving is deciding to drag it out rather than just admitting the game is up and letting us get on with our lives.”