Oracle is the latest builder to run out of money and there could be more — what rights do you have as a Queensland home owner?
Linda and Warwick Wade were supposed to move into their dream home in the Logan suburb of New Beith this month.
All that's happened on their block so far is earthworks and this week they learned their builder, Oracle Homes, had gone into liquidation.
"It's heartbreaking," said Linda.
"I've done nothing but cry all night because it's just… what do we do?"
They had begun the process of cancelling their contract due to the delays, but now face the uncertainty of when they'll be able to progress with the job.
They're thinking of selling the block.
"It's been tough on us as it is … the thought of [starting again] and not giving the sort of lifestyle to our children that we promised is heartbreaking," said Linda.
"What option do we have? Another 18 months of trying to build again — it's pretty tough."
The couple is among around 300 home owners left in the lurch.
Oracle Homes is only the latest construction company to collapse, joining the ranks of dozens of other firms who've gone to the wall amid a loss-making building boom.
In Queensland, there is a home warranty scheme administered by the state's building regulator, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission.
The premium is part of a building contract and is paid by the client before work begins.
It's insurance in case something goes wrong during the building process — in this case, if the contractor can't finish the work.
The maximum claim is $200,000.
It should.
Building contracts are usually set up so that payments are made at different stages — there'll be a deposit, another payment when the slab is poured, another when the frame goes up, and so on.
If your contractor collapses at the early stage of your build, most of your money hasn't been handed over yet.
Industry experts say it's unlikely that projects close to the end would cost more than $200,000 to complete.
The QBCC will assess how much is needed to complete each individual build as part of the claims process.
"What we encourage home owners to do is get in contact with the QBCC," said Anissa Levy, the QBCC commissioner and chief executive.
The construction watchdog has started the process of contacting all 386 policy owners who had taken out a policy with Oracle Homes in the past two years.
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As part of that process, policy owners will be told how to lodge a claim. They can also call 139 933 to get more information or get the process started.
"What they'll need to be doing then is lodging a claim under their insurance scheme, and then we can provide assistance to them to get deposits refunded if their work hasn't commenced, or to ensure that their building work is able to be completed through that claims process," Ms Levy said.
The QBCC commissioner said it was the body's ambition to get people into their homes as quickly as possible.
"For those people who have paid a deposit and their work hasn't commenced, in fact, the process will be quite quick," said Ms Levy.
"We anticipate being able to process a claim once it's lodged within weeks and have those deposits refunded to home owners so they can get on with engaging a new builder."
"For those people whose work has already begun, the process will be a little bit longer and I can't comment on the particular time frames because they're unique to every case."
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