‘Half-house’ owner hits back at builders

Nepalese man Bishnu Aryal moved to Australia and put down a deposit on a $398,950 block of land in Edmondson Park where he planned to build the perfect home for his family.

After years of saving, Mr Aryal – who speaks English as a second language – employed the services of Zac Homes for a custom off-plan build worth $322,400 and in 2016 entered into an agreement for a freestanding home.

When he checked on the progress three years later he told A Current Affair he “nearly fainted” after discovering his free standing build had been turned into a duplex, with one side of the home completely flat and windowless.

Zac Homes said the build initially began as a single freestanding home but claimed it later had to be altered to fit with Liverpool Council regulations, which reportedly stated the block had to be an attached dwelling.

The company claimed Mr Aryal was made aware of the change to the dwelling design multiple times and were given opportunities to pull out of the contract more than once.

However, Mr Aryal, who is a mortgage adviser, has contradicted this claim, alleging he was never made aware of the drastic change to the building plan.

“I was not given any notice of the change,” he wrote on Facebook.

Mr Aryal claimed during the land registration process it was discovered his land was 10 sqm less than originally thought so they were given the opportunity to rescind the land contract or take a discount.

“During land registration our land was 10 sqm less so we were given opportunity to rescind or discount,” the father-of-two said.

“So we take discount from the developer not from builder but our conveyancer didn’t mention anything about change in the plan. Also he was not made aware of change in the building plan.”

Mr Aryal also accused Zac Homes of giving “false statements” to the media. Zac Homes denies any wrongdoing.

“This is why I bring this up, their statements has no proof and just making up the imaginary sentences,” he wrote online.

Since the A Current Affair episode on Mr Aryal went to air on Monday night, Zac Homes has been bombarded with one star reviews.

During the program, the Sydney man revealed he and his family were forced to move into the home without an occupation certificate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Aryal’s response comes after the building company released a lengthy statement in order to “provide some context to the dreadful situation”.

The company claimed it had been working tirelessly to obtain an occupation certificate for Mr Aryal but their efforts were being blocked.

“The disagreement that’s causing the holdup is between the certifier and Liverpool City Council and we’re working hard with them both to try and rectify the situation as quickly as possible,” the company wrote on Facebook.

“The fact is the owners of the lot next door have failed to proceed with building their home and that’s why the certifier has continued to refuse to issue an Occupation Certificate.”

Zac Homes claimed it has “done all we can” by conducting on-site meetings with the certifier, making representations to the council, and lodging a complaint to Fair Trading NSW.

The building company said it has also waived a fee of $23,000 and have deferred Mr Aryal’s final payment in order to alleviate some of the family’s stress.

“It’s a mess. We know that. Even though this situation hasn’t been caused by us, we are doing what we can to ensure that the right thing is done by Mr Aryal and his family. We feel for them,” the company said.

Mr Aryal told A Current Affair he “trusted the process” of building the home and was shocked when he discovered what had actually being built.

“Where’s my house? I want the rest of my house. It’s not a freestanding house, it’s not a duplex, it’s half a house. And it looks embarrassing,” he told the program.