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Posted: 2024-11-07 03:42:11

Several companies owned by troubled Perth home builder, Nicheliving, have gone into external administration after it struck a deal with the state government which stripped the company of its building registration.

KordaMentha has been appointed to restructure three Nicheliving Group divisions, Projex Management and Construction, Rubix Future and Building, and parent company Nicheliving Holdings.

It comes after the company left more than 200 customers with unfinished homes, with some signing contracts four years ago.

In a statement, KordaMentha Restructuring said it had appointed voluntary administrators.

“The voluntary administrators have now taken control of these companies and are undertaking an urgent assessment of the companies’ affairs and financial position,” the statement read.  

“Nicheliving Group’s development division is not affected by the appointment of the voluntary administrators and will continue on a business-as-usual basis.

“The voluntary administrators would like to assure homeowners with contracts with Nicheliving that they can continue to pursue their home indemnity insurance claims to get their homes completed by another builder.”

In October the WA government picked up the bill for Nicheliving to waive its insurance liability and in return the company and its directors agreed to give up its building registration for a decade.

The deal allowed more than 200 customers to terminate their contracts with Niche and access their home indemnity insurance to find a new builder to complete their homes.

Homeowners are eligible to access up to $200,000 in insurance but the insurer, QBE, would not pursue Nicheliving’s directors to cover that cost.

A moody photo of Trisha Blake standing with a serious expression in an office.

Trish Blake says the administrators will be working to disentangle the interwined companies.  (ABC News: Cason Ho)

WA Consumer Protection Commissioner Trish Blake said it was not surprising the company had made this move.

"Because a lot of their companies under that whole Niche banner are quite intertwined it’s not uncommon to get those administrators in, in order to disentangle that and pull those out so that they can wind those parts of the company up,” she told ABC Radio Perth.

Ms Blake said she wanted to reassure customers that any deposits paid to the company will be protected in a trust account.

"In situations like this when a company goes into admin that money is protected … it goes back to the people.

"We will be continuing to keep an eye on that.”

The development arm of the company is not affected by the external administrators, and the commissioner said that will keep people who bought off the plan for Nicheliving’s Sky Homes apartment complex safe.

"It is our understanding that the developers are seeking other builders to come finish off that project," Ms Blake said.

"It is in their best interest to do that because that’s the only way they’re going to get their money at the end of the day, is finishing that apartment block and selling off the rest of the apartments.”

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