Records show the newly appointed supervisor for Nicheliving's building arm had a run-in with the Building Commissioner eight years ago over negligent and misleading conduct.
Records show the newly appointed supervisor for Nicheliving's building arm had a run-in with the Building Commissioner eight years ago over negligent and misleading conduct.
Nicheliving’s building contractor division - Projex Management & Construction - now lists Muin Qaqish as its new nominated supervisor. The hurried appointment was made after its previous supervisor left the position midweek, without whom the builder couldn’t legally build or enter new contracts.
The state's building regulator, Building and Energy, confirmed Nicheliving had notified it that Mr Qaqish was now the company’s nominated supervisor.
Mr Qaqish - and a building partnership for which he was the nominated supervisor - was fined by the Building Commissioner eight years ago for negligent and misleading conduct over three building projects in Perth.
The conduct related to three homebuilding contracts- valued between $280,000 and $450,000 - with property owners in Maylands, North Perth and Bullsbrook between 2009 and 2010.
Mr Qaqish was fined $1,000 and the two entities in the building partnership were fined $1,500 for negligent and misleading conduct, according to a Building Services Board statement from 2016 that this masthead has confirmed.
According to that statement, the partnership was negligent in that contracts for all three homebuilding projects asked for a deposit in excess of 6.5 per cent and demanded a payment prior to obtaining and providing home indemnity insurance policies.
It also started the work on the Bullsbrook property prior to obtaining a building permit, and stated a lower amount than the actual contract value on the building permit application to the City of Swan, according to the statement.
The partnership volunteered to have its registration cancelled in 2015, but Mr Qaqish remained a registered building service contractor in an individual capacity.
It's likely Mr Qaqish was appointed as the new nominated supervisor for Nicheliving’s Projex division late on Thursday.
It means Nicheliving can now legally resume work and enter into new contracts, after it was forced to down tools for at least a day.
Building contractors are required by law to have at least one nominated supervisor who is a registered building practitioner and an officer or employee of the contractor.
Builders without a nominated supervisor can’t legally carry out work or enter into contracts generally valued over $20,000.
The Nicheliving division previously listed Malcolm Thomas Curtis as the nominated supervisor. He likely vacated the role sometime between Wednesday and Thursday.
Speaking yesterday, a Building and Energy spokesperson said Nicheliving had advised that it Intended to appoint a new nominated supervisor.
Today the regulator said, "building contractor Projex Management & Construction Pty Ltd (BC12153) has notified Building and Energy that building practitioner Muin Qaqish (BP11578) is now the company’s nominated supervisor."
It comes against a backdrop of the builder having more than 200 unfinished homes across the state, leading to a growing list of customer complaints.
Yesterday's news of Nicheliving’s division being without a nominated supervisor drew criticism from state opposition leader Shane Love, who claimed it would be challenge for Nicheliving to recruit for the role amid its public scrutiny.
Also yesterday, a state government spokesperson said it was concerning the company no longer had a nominated superior to manage the builds.
The spokesperson encouraged the builder to appoint a new nominated supervisor as soon as possible “so they can commence work on delayed projects immediately”.
This masthead has been in contact with Nicheliving, and has attempted to contact Mr Qaqish.
