A 75-year-old Sydney resident, Nicky Sinclair, has been embroiled in a two-year battle with her strata manager over a series of severe structural defects in her apartment. Forced to vacate her Drummoyne home in February 2024, Sinclair has since been living in various Airbnbs while her unit remains unrepaired.
Sinclair purchased the apartment as her "forever home" in 2022 and soon noticed water pooling inside near her balcony door after rain, leading to the growth of mushrooms from her floorboards. Although a flood report had been commissioned by a previous resident, Sinclair assumed the strata report would have flagged any existing issues. Her bathroom was later significantly damaged when a bathtub's base proved rotted, causing water to leak into the bathroom space.
The situation escalated in February 2022 when Sinclair discovered sewage seeping through her floor. She reported that the strata manager, Conti Strata, initially refused to address the problem, prompting Sinclair to take the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The tribunal ordered that Sinclair's apartment be repaired within six months.
More than two years after this order, Sinclair is still displaced. Conti Strata attributed the extensive delays to new legislation that introduced regulatory, design, and planning approval challenges, which they claim have extended project timelines. The manager also cited difficulties in obtaining agreement from multiple apartment owners to cover escalating repair costs as a contributing factor.
Conti Strata stated that insurers have continued to cover Sinclair's temporary accommodation and storage expenses. The company acknowledged Sinclair's desire to return home and affirmed their commitment to supporting the Owners Corporation's final decisions on repair approvals and costs, stating they will "do all that is in our power to support that process."