First of a kind class action against WA building group
More than 5,000 customers are expected to join a $100 million class action against the BGC Housing Group building group after the case was lodged in the Western Australia Supreme Court.
LAWYERS acting for 1,000s of WA homeowners have launched a class action against the BGC Housing Group in the Supreme Court.
Complainants claim the building giant breached Australian Consumer Law and contractual obligations over delays and cost blowouts to new properties. BGC says it will defend any legal action.
The case, which was prompted by the Facebook BGC Proposed Class Action Group, could have ramifications around the rest of Australia.
“This is the first-class action to be commenced in the Supreme Court of Western Australia,” a spokesman for Morgan Alteruthemeyer Legal Group confirmed.
The firm’s Spencer Lieberfreund said: “We are pleased to announce the commencement of the class action against BGC Housing Group.
“We have undertaken a significant amount of work getting to this point and we are pleased to be able to support our clients in pursuing their claim.”
Talking about the experiences of those taking action, expected to number upwards of 5,000, he added: “In terms of financial stress it has been enormous, unfortunately these people have been under a lot of financial stress.
“If you have rent and a mortgage and you did not expect to have both of them for that length of time, savings are gone.
“Financially we are looking at things like loss in rents, extra interest payments, utility charges, and land tax.
“In terms of the emotional experience, it has been absolutely heartbreaking hearing some of the stories from families that have been split with a mum or dad having to work away.
“We have people living in sheds, caravans, we have one person living in a nine-foot caravan going from site to site trying to get their kids into school.
“It is really, really heartbreaking and what it comes down to is not knowing when their homes are going to be finished.”
The Facebook-formed class action group founder Jess Spithoven, who is also a class action member, said: “The Court action has begun and we hope all those homeowners affected by BGC’s actions will receive their full compensation under the law.”
One family signed up to the class action began with a preliminary works in December 2020 but did not move in until October 2023, according to the claims.
Stimulus grants handed out by the state and federal governments during the COVID pandemic caused problems for the housing construction industry.
A BGC spokesman said the basis of the class action case had potential widespread implications for all builders across the state and Australia.
“The company will not let this distract us from our continued focus on delivering all homes as quickly as current labour market constraints allow,” he said.
“Since we ceased taking new home orders in April 2023 we have handed over in excess
1,800 homes.
“Current completion rates are seeing us hand over 40-50 sets of keys per week.”
