Sydney cracked unit owners to pay $1m levy

The owners of units in the cracked Mascot Towers building have been given until August 1 to pay a special levy worth thousands of dollars for each unit owned.

Owners of apartments in a cracked Sydney complex have been told they have just weeks to come up with more than a million dollars to cover emergency repairs.

Owners of apartments in a cracked Sydney complex have been told they have just weeks to come up with more than a million dollars to cover emergency repairs. Source: SBS

Owners of apartments in a cracked Sydney complex have been told they have just weeks to come up with more than a million dollars to cover emergency repairs and other costs.

Mascot Towers, in the city's south, was evacuated on Friday night after engineers became concerned about cracks in the primary support structure and facade masonry of the 10-year-old building on Bourke Street.
The Mascot Towers building.
The Mascot Towers building. Source: AAP
Residents in about half of the 122 units that were considered partly accessible have since been told they can briefly return to collect personal items under escort from management and security.

All of the other units fall in the non-accessible zone and cannot be entered at any time, along with car parks, recreational areas and some businesses.



A document from strata management company Strata Choice, formally advising owners of a meeting on Thursday, reveals they will need to pay a special levy of $1.1 million, equating to thousands of dollars per unit, by August 1.

The document breaks down costs, without GST, into $254,000 for propping, $250,000 for engineering, $176,000 for legal fees, $100,000 for the estimated cost of the evacuation, $70,000 for new carpets, $5000 for a media consultant and others.

Owners of 24 properties within Mascot Towers have also written to the management of their building to demand further access to the building and information from engineers.
An update from building management on Monday night reiterated that a claim on the building's insurance policy to fund temporary accommodation had been knocked back.

It's been reported that the building is too old for warranty cover.

Residents and owners will meet with experts and government officials on Thursday night.


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Published 19 June 2019 7:10am
Updated 19 June 2019 8:07am


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