A state tribunal's decision has reversed many customers' chance to terminate their contracts with their troubled home builder.
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00:00This derelict home in Perth's western suburbs was meant to be a safety net for Richard Hamilton.
00:08He's renting it from Niche Living while he waits for the company to complete his home,
00:14one he signed up for four years ago.
00:16I put all my savings into the deposit for the house and I obviously planned on the assumption
00:24of about 18 months.
00:25When Niche was deregistered, it was a light at the end of the tunnel.
00:29It opened up the possibility of accessing the QBE home indemnity insurance, getting
00:33another builder in, somebody who could actually finish the job properly.
00:37But that light was suddenly dulled by the Tribunal's decision, just five days out from
00:42ending his contract.
00:44I think torture is not exaggerating, it's emotional torture.
00:48The stay order allows Niche Living to operate as if its deregistration never happened.
00:54Customers are still locked into their contracts and the Tribunal heard it's those who signed
00:59on in 2020 who are some of the worse off, after project prices increased by more than
01:0530 per cent in the past four years.
01:08We will continue to oppose Niche's appeal and in the meantime we're looking at what
01:16steps government might be able to take to get those homes built.
01:20There's quite serious black mould up here.
01:23Niche has now sold the house Richard is living in, giving him 30 days to find a new rental.
01:29So I'm angry, I'm shocked and I never found myself at the age of, in my 50s, with a well
01:38paying job on the verge of homelessness.
01:40Most disappointing to me is that, to note that Niche has started selling off some of
01:47its assets, I'm assuming that they're doing that to show that they do have the financials
01:54to meet their obligations.
01:56A scramble to put money on the table as customers continue to pay the price.