LOCAL strata leaders are fearful that thousands of Canberra unit and apartment residents are unaware that they’re potentially living in fire traps. 

Proctor Legal, the Master Builder Association, the Owners Corporation Network and the Strata Community Association, ACT, have co-penned a letter to the ACT government to try and engage in a proactive way on this issue.

Together, they are backing the ACT Greens, who called on the ACT government to audit privately-owned buildings for combustible cladding.

Strata Community Association, ACT, president Chris Miller says: “We are backing the call from the Greens for the ACT government to take a central role in identifying the extent of the issue in the nation’s capital.

An estimated 157 buildings in the ACT are suspected of containing combustible cladding and without a government-led audit to determine the actual figure of affected privately-owned buildings, strata bosses fear thousands of Canberra strata residents are unaware of the level of potential risk in their homes, says SCA.

In July, 2017, only weeks after the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London, the ACT government launched an audit of government-owned buildings. To date, the association says the ACT government hasn’t taken action on privately-owned buildings.

“SCA (ACT) can report that presently the insurance market is pricing in risk to the strata market, and we hold fears that things will get worse,” Mr Miller says.