Yahoo Finance Mascot Tower owners send plea to NSW minister to pay for building damage
Evacuated apartment owners of Mascot Tower have asked the NSW government to assist in forking out for remediation works in a letter that states a third of the owners are unable to afford the $60,000 levy.
Cracking in the primary support structure and facade masonry saw residents of 132 apartments evacuated in mid-June. A motion to raise a special levy to the tune of $7 million for stage one of the rectification works was passed in late August.
But Mascot Towers’ strata committee has now written to NSW minister for better regulation and innovation Kevin Anderson, saying that a survey suggested 35 per cent of owners were not able to pay their $60,000 share.
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“The owners of Mascot Towers are in a very difficult situation and securing the funding that is necessary to commence remedial work on the Mascot Towers building is proving to be an impossible task,” the letter states, as reported by SMH.
Owners said they were not able to have their mortgages extended or obtain a personal loan, borrow money from friends, refinance using another property, or rely on savings.
While stage one of works are due to begin on 30 September, the strata committee has said they are unable to sign the contract because of the shortfall in funds.
The letter pleads for Anderson to “to find a solution where the government can assist the owners' corporation with its current cash flow problem” so that “rectification works can commence, and the building does not deteriorate to a point where it is commercially unviable to fix”.
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The committee highlighted the urgency in having building rectification works begin as soon as possible.
“Our engineers' advice is that the building in its current condition is less capable of sustaining further overloading due to thermal load cycles that are likely to be imposed onto the building structure during the coming summer,” the letter states.
"Should these thermal load cycles be applied to the structure in its current state, further structural degradation may result, and the rectification cost to the building as a whole would become commercially unviable. Time is of the essence."
Mascot Tower owners speak up
According to SMH, the letter included comments from 21 owners, with one who said: “I will be turning 67 years old early next year ... My husband passed away 15 years ago. Mascot Towers is my only asset. I have never in my entire life relied on government support.
“The stage 1 special levies alone will erode 50 per cent of my savings, I will not be able to ever retire now.
“At this stage I really do not know what I will do as no one will loan me any money. My future is looking bleak and I am in the process of desperately looking for advice.”
Another wrote: “I don't know how to source 60K in the next 6 months and I am currently under a lot of stress.”
Yet another pleaded: “Please help us repair our building. I have been a hard-working taxpayer for many years and I have not done anything wrong. It is not fair that I am in financial ruin because I bought an apartment in NSW. Anything you can do for us will be much appreciated!”
–with AAP
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