Mascot Towers saga finally comes to an end after five long years of hell for dozens of apartment owners
Unit owners in troubled Mascot Towers will finally be able to move on after a majority voted to sell their properties to a consortium for a fraction of their purchase price.
More than three-quarters of the owners of the development’s 131 units and nine commercial leases agreed this week to a deal in which they would pay a percentage of what their properties are worth.
Residents were evacuated in 2019 when serious structural defects, including major cracks, appeared in buildings in Sydney’s south, but have since been paying thousands of dollars a month in mortgages and strata fees.
In January, apartment owners were presented with a rescue package, put together by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, aimed at waiving fees and paying rock-bottom prices for the uninhabitable properties.
The NSW government has given the plan final approval, ending the five-year drama.
Owner-occupiers of Sydney’s infamous Mascot Towers (above) have been left struggling with millions of dollars worth of debt after their homes became uninhabitable
The towers were evacuated in 2019 when structural defects, including major cracks, were discovered and the building was declared unsafe
One of the apartment owners, business manager Rachel Williams, 52, said she was surprised the plan was approved and the prices offered.
‘THey, they improved their original bid, but I’m still surprised they reached a 75 percent majority,” she shared Doman.
‘Tmany people are still missing here. For various briefings, people had to register as a ‘leaver’ or ‘stayer’. We would love to stay, but that’s too risky. You don’t know what will happen.
“So basically everyone has ended up in the leaver basket, even though they may not be happy about it and it’s financially difficult.”
The residents unsuccessfully applied to the High Court last year to have the strata scheme and their ongoing costs waived, which would have allowed them to sell the building in its entirety to a new developer.
In addition, more than $21 million in government-funded rental subsidies to live elsewhere will expire on June 30, leaving owners with few options but to agree to the Building Commissioners package.
The bailout package for the towers totals around $30 million, with owners required to sign contracts and a confidentiality agreement by March 20.
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler (above) proposed selling the apartments as ‘individual lots’ and using the money to repay the owners’ debts after an attempt to sell the building as a whole was blocked
Large cracks (like the one above) started appearing around the residential towers in 2019 after Aland Developments started construction on a neighboring property
“David Chandler has managed to pull a very big rabbit out of a very small hat with this deal,” said Shelter NSW CEO John Engeler, who has helped the owners navigate the deals and achieve an agreement.
“I think a lot of people are worried, but most are relieved that this nightmare could soon be over.”
The evacuation of the Mascot Towers took place after construction defects were discovered. The owners claimed that the construction of an underground parking garage at a neighboring building contributed to the cracks. The latter two parties agreed a confidential amount last year.
The Mascot Towers saga began about six months after residents of another Sydney apartment building, Opal Tower, were evacuated over similar concerns.
The NSW government has since passed laws to tighten building standards and provide care for owners of defective apartment buildings.