It’s the stuff of Sydney strata nightmares: a cracking building, an expensive repair bill and an owners’ meeting that got so heated the police turned up.
The drama started in the basement of the Vicinity apartment towers in Canterbury earlier this month, when owners couldn’t agree over who should be put in charge of managing the affairs of the troubled apartment block.
The 10-storey development, which was finished in 2017 and includes 254 units, came under government scrutiny last month.
Inspectors were sent in after an engineer’s report, commissioned by owners, questioned the building’s structural safety and documented cracks in the concrete slabs used to support the apartment towers.
Within minutes of the extraordinary general meeting being opened on November 11, tempers flared.
One concerned attendee called police, who warned they would shut the meeting down “if this thing does get out of hand”.
Video from the same meeting shows owners shouting and jeering at each other before officers arrived.
The ABC understands animosity about the repairs, as well as a divide between investors and owner-occupiers has created the rift.
“People were screaming, I thought a brawl was about to break out,” Leith Dawes, a former strata committee chair, said.
The development’s management is in turmoil, with two strata committees effectively claiming to run the building after the chaotic meeting.
Many of the strata disagreements stem from differences between the building’s owner-occupiers and owner-investors.
Owners living in the building say they want defects properly fixed, but some investors — who rent their apartments to tenants — are baulking at the cost of special levies and an ongoing court case against the developer, Toplace, fearing it will harm their prospects of selling.
The growing angst was accelerated after government inspectors last month examined the basement to see if the building would need to be evacuated.
Inspectors ultimately decided people could stay, for now, as “any potential collapse associated with the observed cracking would further manifest over time”.
A government report provided to owners recommended cracks at major structural locations be monitored.
Toplace has previously told the ABC the building is structurally sound and the engineer’s report questioning its safety is based on incorrect assumptions and is invalid.
It did little to quell concern among those that live at the complex, who pointed to a string of separate issues with those involved in the construction.
The certifier who signed off on the initial construction certificate has since had their accreditation cancelled over concerns about their work on another project.
The engineer who checked the structural adequacy of Vicinity is under investigation by Engineers Australia, however that probe is yet to be concluded.
The engineer denies any wrongdoing and has told the ABC that an investigation does not in and of itself equate to negligence or guilt.
The concerns about the certifier and engineer relate to other projects.
Meanwhile, Toplace — the developer behind the project — has been ordered by NSW Fair Trading to fix potential defects at two other sites.
Resident Patrick Quintal, who bought his apartment in May this year, is nervous.
“You can probably appreciate my dismay,” the 27-year-old said.
“I’ve got defects on my balcony that just make me sad.
“You move in and find most people are owner-investors and only care about getting their rent money.
“When you tell them about the issues, they lose their minds about having to pay for common property fixes.”
He’s among several owner-occupiers, including another man, Michael Jones, that dispute the selection of a new strata committee, which took place at the tumultuous November 11 meeting.
Mr Jones claims the committee — a group of apartment owners that oversee the management of a building — is stacked with investors who are unsympathetic to their cause.
About 20 owner-occupiers have lodged legal action in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, hoping to oust their current strata manager and limit his access to owners’ corporation funds, and a separate application to remove the property manager.
Hearings are likely to begin next month.
Owners have also been pursuing developer Toplace in the Supreme Court since 2018 over alleged defects.
The developer has previously told the ABC all defects identified have been minor in nature.
