THE ACT strata sector is urgently calling on the ACT government to address Canberra’s costly and dangerous apartment issues. 

The sector’s concerns follow the release of a report by Equity Economics this week, which estimates that it’ll cost about $268million to rectify the apartment defects in Canberra.

It also estimates that hundreds of Canberra residents are living in or own apartments and units that pose a serious risk to personal safety.

Strata Community Association (ACT)’s president Chris Miller says Canberra apartment owners are facing potential financial hardship because they’re footing the bill to fix flammable cladding and building defect problems, which are out of their control.

He says the ACT government should step in to assist these people.

“Canberra apartment owners purchased properties in good faith not knowing that non-compliant materials had been installed, nor that construction failed to meet required standards,” he says.

“They should not be financially penalised due to the lack of proper building regulations.

“As much as apartment owners cannot afford costly rectification bills, they know they cannot risk leaving these potentially life-threatening non-complaint materials and building defects on their buildings, and that’s where we want the Federal and territory Government to step up with construction reforms and funding assistance to help them.”

Mr Miller says the sector is looking for the ACT government to commit to forming a working group to sit down with industry leaders and work on an action plan to address the territory’s flammable cladding and apartment building defect crisis.

“Ultimately, we understand that the ACT operates differently to its interstate counterparts, however, we must take the lessons learned from across the border, with Victoria’s $600million cladding rectification scheme and NSW’s Building Minister’s consideration of a similar rectification scheme,” he says.

“We’re not asking for much more than a commitment for the ACT to sit down with interested stakeholders to plot out a plan to improve the lives of residents across the territory.”