Nicky's home sweet home is now a complete shell

Nicky Sinclair has spent the past two years bouncing between Airbnbs after building defects made her apartment unlivable.

A buildup of moisture under the 75-year-old’s floorboards caused mushrooms to grow.

“The waterproofing was non-existent ... the water would seep in under the [outdoor] tiles and come [inside],” Sinclair told A Current Affair.

She purchased the two-bedroom unit in Drummoyne in Sydney’s Inner West in 2022.

“It just looked fantastic, it was beautifully presented,” Sinclair said.

But every time it rained, water would pool on the floorboard near the glass doors to her balcony.

Sinclair reported the issue to strata manager, Conti Strata.

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“In the meantime I had thought, ’why was this not ever reported before?”

Sinclair didn’t know it at the time, but a flood report had been ordered by the previous owner, three months before Sinclair had bought the place.

An inspection was done after water began leaking into a tackle shop below the apartment.

Sinclair said the information was not on the strata report she independently ordered when buying the unit, and she did not get a building inspection report done.

“I assumed, maybe wrongly, that the strata report would reveal any of the things that would have been happening.”

One night in February 2024, Sinclair woke to sewage all over her floor, and she was told she had to get out.

She says the owners corporation refused to rectify the issue, so she took legal action.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered Sinclair’s owners corporation to repair her apartment within six months.

It has been more than two years since Sinclair moved out and she still can’t move back into her apartment.

In a statement to A Current Affair, Conti Strata said: “Recent legislation designed to address construction defects has led to a raft of regulatory, design and planning approval hurdles that can blow out timelines... That also makes getting agreement from a whole range of apartment block owners to cover those rocketing costs increasingly complex.”

Owner Inspections director Maison Azdari says Sinclair’s story acts as a warning for those buying a unit.

“Don’t sign a contract without checking strata report and building inspection report … The cost might be one percent of just a deposit, but it’s your peace of mind,” he said.

In the meantime, Sinclair and her dog Poppy are trying to make home in her ninth Airbnb.

“I don’t have my belongings. I think my whole life’s packed up in two containers and a storage. And it just is upsetting, it’s horrible.”

Statement from Conti Strata

We understand and share Miss Sinclair’s frustration as to the delays to her repairs.

Our business has worked closely with thousands of apartment owners and Owners Corporations for over 23 years and it has never taken so long to approve, or been as costly to, undertake major building repairs and remediations.

Recent legislation designed to address construction defects has led to a raft of regulatory, design and planning approval hurdles that can blow out timelines by months and have quadrupled the costs of repairs.

That also makes getting agreement from a whole range of apartment block owners to cover those rocketing costs increasingly complex and contentious, causing further delays.

We have today again spoken with the insurers representatives who have confirmed regulatory requirements and sign-offs are the cause of the delays for Miss Sinclair’s home and the broader apartment block repairs. 

As such they have extended her temporary accommodation and storage arrangements.

Given all she has gone through we also recognise Miss Sinclair simply wants to return to her home.

While the building’s Owners Corporation will make the final decision on approving repairs and signing off costs, for our part will do all that is in our power to support that process.

Clarification: An earlier version of this report may have been understood by some viewers to mean that Conti Strata is responsible for repairs to Ms Sinclair’s property and the subject of the NCAT decision referred to in the report. A Current Affair clarifies such responsibility sits with, and the orders were made against, The Owners - Strata Plan No. 78200.