Biggest building certifier goes into receivership

One of New Zealand's largest private building certifiers has collapsed, leaving the future of 1500 homes, valued at about $375 million, up in the air.

Nationwide Building Certifiers Group was put into receivership last week. It was inspecting 1500 homes at various stages of completion, and the status of those inspections is now uncertain.

Meanwhile, an answerphone message at a second firm, Mt Maunganui's Building Inspection & Advisory Service, is referring clients to territorial authorities and says no new inspections are being booked.

Nationwide stopped taking new work during the winter and its Building Industry Authority approval was amended to reflect this.

It had offices in Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Whitianga. The offices have been closed and staff laid off.

The authority announced in winter that Nationwide had fewer than 2000 active files. It promised then to work with Nationwide "where appropriate, in managing an orderly closure to minimise disruption to its clients, territorial authorities and the wider building industry".

But industry sources said yesterday that the gradual wind-down was not fast enough to complete work on all the properties, leaving 1500 houses outstanding when the firm went under this month.

Developers were hardest hit because their money was due only when certification was completed, the sources said, leaving some with debts of more than $1 million and little hope of an early settlement.

The firm is now in the hands of a Wellington firm of accountants.

Wellington accountant David Hercus said Nationwide was put into receivership last Wednesday and he had been appointed as one of two receivers.

A tally of assets and liabilities had not yet been drawn up, he said, but he hoped to have it ready soon.

The authority said it was discussing with the receivers the implications of receivership on Nationwide's customers.

Chief executive John Ryall said the authority's main aim was to minimise disruption to customers and make sure inspections and certifications were completed in a timely manner.

 

In September, the authority deregistered Approved Building Certifiers after finding that it had been "negligent and incompetent in its operations as a building certifier".

When it announced that the authority said that ABC had around 5000 current files.