'In limbo land': Apartment owners in bind over flammable cladding fix

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'In limbo land': Apartment owners in bind over flammable cladding fix

By Matt O'Sullivan

A drawn out saga over replacing flammable cladding has soured relations between owners of a southern Sydney apartment building and imposed a large financial burden on them.

Yet almost 18 months after their local council ordered cladding to be removed, some owners of the Quattro Apartments at Gymea fear the material they plan to use to replace it won't comply in future because the state government is still to decide on suitable products.

Quattro apartment owner Rave Mawjee says there is a lack of clarity about suitable replacement products.

Quattro apartment owner Rave Mawjee says there is a lack of clarity about suitable replacement products.Credit: Kate Geraghty

Their predicament is similar to owners of other buildings across Sydney, and has led the peak body for apartment owners to argue that people "remain caught in a surreal web of blame shifting" by authorities over combustible cladding.

Almost two years after testing showed aluminium composite panels on their building were a fire hazard, Quattro owners voted at a meeting last week for a $255,000 special levy to replace the cladding, costing them on average about $10,000 each.

Apartment owner Rave Mawjee said some of his neighbours who were pensioners or had been furloughed due to the coronavirus-induced recession would struggle to afford it.

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"I've got to refinance my mortgage to pay for it," he said.

While a product safety panel was set up last month, NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler has said it is unlikely to advise on which replacement cladding materials should be used until early 2021.

Mr Mawjee said the lack of clarity meant owners could find themselves installing cladding that was eventually found to be unsuitable. "The commissioner is saying don't rush into replacing it; local government is saying replace it. We are caught in between – we're in limbo land," he said.

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Quattro owner Janice McLeod has flammable cladding on the outside of her apartment.

Quattro owner Janice McLeod has flammable cladding on the outside of her apartment.Credit: Kate Geraghty

The owners have already spent almost $20,000 to test the existing cladding and prepare a detailed report for Sutherland Shire Council.

Another owner, Janice McLeod, said she could not understand why the state did not have a list of suitable cladding products. "I think it's puzzling why [the government] can't endorse products because Australia has a very extensive testing system," she said.

The core of the aluminium composite material on the outside of her three-bedroom apartment comprises about 81 per cent polyethylene, which is considered a high fire risk.

Apart from the financial toll, the saga has divided residents in the 29-unit building, which was completed five years ago.

The Quattro Apartments building in Gymea.

The Quattro Apartments building in Gymea.Credit: Kate Geraghty

"We used to have a Christmas party in the back of the building each year and now people don't talk to each other," Mr Mawjee said. "By the government putting the onus on us to make a decision, we have 60 or 80 opinions on this. It has caused a lot of bad blood."

Sutherland Shire's Liberal mayor, Carmelo Pesce, who owns two shops in the building, said he was confident a suitable replacement product had been chosen.

"We are going to do our due diligence. We would need to have it signed off by an expert first before the cladding is installed so we don't fall into the same trap," said Cr Pesce, who is chair of the Quattro strata committee.

The peak body for apartment owners has accused authorities of blame shifting, more than three years after London's Grenfell Tower fire exposed the dangers of flammable cladding.

"Local councils accuse the NSW cladding taskforce of hounding them to get cladding replaced. Councils are in turn hounding building owners with fire orders and threats of multimillion-dollar fines," Owners Corporation Network executive officer Karen Stiles said.

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NSW Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson said the cladding product safety panel would meet next week and begin developing clear guidelines for the safe use of products and installation systems, while ensuring they complied with standards and insurance requirements.

"Local councils can request that the panel consider specific matters when a council is assessing particular remediation plans put forward by building owners," he said.

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