VIC government strengthens protections for homeowners whose builders collapse

ABC NEWS (Australia)

After a disastrous period in the residential construction sector, the VIC state government is racing to strengthen protections for aspiring homeowners left in the lurch when their builders collapse. The move to close a home deposit "loophole" is one of several in contention, as the government battles a housing crisis on multiple fronts.

Transcript

00:00 Hundreds of housing dreams became nightmares overnight when major home builder Porter Davis

00:06 suddenly collapsed in March.

00:08 Half-built homes were in limbo.

00:10 Their owners shocked when it was revealed the company failed to take out mandatory insurance.

00:15 I was pretty numb at that time, but my wife took it pretty hard.

00:19 The government stepped in and spent millions refunding deposits they'd lost.

00:23 Now it's taking a big stick approach to other builders who do the wrong thing.

00:28 This bill, the offences that we'll be creating, will fix that loophole.

00:33 Gearing up to find companies up to half a million dollars or individual builders up

00:37 to $100,000 if they accept home deposits on contracts worth more than $16,000 without

00:44 taking out mandatory insurance.

00:46 It was one thing to get our money back and start the dream again, but it always had the

00:50 question in people's head and every other friend that I spoke to as well is, "Oh, what

00:54 if another builder does the same thing?"

00:57 This is all part of a big reform agenda in the building industries as we make sure that

01:02 we have the opportunity for more Victorians to have a roof over their head, that we have

01:07 the appropriate consumer protections in place as well.

01:11 Getting roofs over heads was also the focus of a new parliamentary report which found

01:15 the state's rental market is being squeezed into crisis as fewer middle-income owners

01:20 can afford their own homes and fewer low-income owners can find social housing.

01:25 The inquiry found that the state alone can't fix problems that are decades in the making.

01:30 Instead it's called on the Victorian government to push for a nationwide approach.

01:34 This inquiry should be a wake-up call to the Victorian Labor government and the Greens

01:38 will keep pushing for a rent freeze followed by a permanent cap on rent increases.

01:43 But the Housing Affordability Inquiry found short-term rent controls were only useful

01:48 in extreme circumstances.

01:50 It said the state government's main lever is increasing housing supply, calling for

01:55 60,000 new social housing dwellings over the next decade.

02:00 That will be the most significant reform that you can do to end homelessness in this state.

02:07 The government has six months to respond to the recommendations.

02:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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