Tiny home firm loses battle
After ‘‘constantly battling’’ rising building costs and supply chain issues, a Taranaki small homes company that hoped to help relieve New Zealand’s housing crisis has gone into liquidation.
NZ Tiny Homes was founded by Jamie Cameron and his then-wife, Kylie Thomson, in 2018 as a way to help people trying to get on to the property ladder.
But constant supply chain issues and the rising cost of building materials, which Cameron said had easily gone up 50% since the pandemic, meant it was no longer feasible to continue.
‘‘When you get constant delays and constant disruptions over the last two years you’re constantly battling,’’ he said. ‘‘I can’t believe the amount of obstacles that have been thrown at us.’’
Tony Maginness, of Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Auckland, has been appointed liquidator.
Maginness said it was ‘‘too early to tell’’ how much debt the company had, but he would have a more accurate picture when his report is published next week. Thomson has left the business. The head office and manufacturing plant is in New Plymouth, and finished homes were trucked throughout the North Island.
The company had an agreement with NZ Tiny Homes Mainland to market, build and sell NZ Tiny Homes designs in the South Island but the two are separate companies.
The business grew by 500% in 2019, building 50 homes in 10 months, thanks to the skyrocketing demand for downsizing as a way to beat soaring property prices.
‘‘It’s so disappointing we’re turning people away who want to buy homes from us because of this,’’ Cameron said. ‘‘But it got to a point where we couldn’t deliver because we kept getting delays, and it was incredibly hard.’’
Cameron played 75 games for Taranaki between 1992 and 1999, including the 1996 Ranfurly Shield win. He spent two years with the
Hurricanes from their inaugural season in 1996. He also played professionally for two years with London Irish in the United Kingdom.
From 2015 to 2017, he was the commercial manager at the Taranaki Daily News.
Cameron said he was focusing on delivering finished homes for current clients and making sure his team of 11 builders was looked after.
He understood some ‘‘interested parties’’ were looking to finish off six builds that were almost complete and then take over the business. Three builds were about to be started.
‘‘We are working through how to carry on and finish those,’’ he said.
Cameron had laid off most staff but said things could change and they might be needed to help finish off the incomplete homes. ‘‘But we don’t want to keep promising financial stuff when we can’t deliver it.’’
Cameron said his employees gave their ‘‘heart and soul’’ to the business.
‘‘It’s heart-wrenching for everyone.’’