Sue and Gary thought they had bought a dream house to live in. Now they are not allowed to live in it, they are not allowed to sell it… and four years later they are STILL paying the costs. This is the grim reality of the Mascot Towers farce

A couple has lost nearly $1 million – and is still paying the costs – on a home they haven’t been able to live in for four years.

Sue, 67, and Gary, 71, bought a $486,000 apartment in Mascot Towers, in Sydney’s south, in March 2012, believing they would work for a few more years before retiring in their new home.

But the couple were among 132 families forced to evacuate the ailing tower after major cracks were discovered in a primary support beam in June 2019.

Now, this holiday season, Sue and Gary will try to get back the retirement money that was instead spent on their now uninhabitable one-bedroom apartment.

“Gary and I would love to retire but we are both still working over Christmas,” Sue told Daily Mail Australia.

‘We wanted to retire at the age of 65.

‘[But] we still pay about $1,000 a month in strata fees [for Mascot Towers] while renting another property in Brisbane.”

Sue’s daughter Sally Prosser said: ‘Can you imagine?’

“You can’t live in it, you can’t sell it, they won’t fix it, no one will take responsibility, but you still have to pay your strata fees and you still have to pay your mortgage.

“It’s wild.”

Under NSW law, major construction defects are only covered by warranty for six years, and minor defects for only two years, after completion of a project.

Over the past four years, homeowners at Mascot Towers have faced double costs as they continue to pay mortgages and strata fees on the defect-ridden building in addition to rent.

Sue and Gary have lost more than $500,000 in direct costs (such as the purchase price, stamp duty and strata charges) and almost another half million in estimated capital appreciation on their apartment.

Despite their ordeal, they consider themselves lucky compared to some others heartbreaking stories that emerged from the construction disaster.

“There are many people in a similar situation and in a worse situation than us,” they said.

‘People who were already retired and put everything into it. Singles with one income. Young families. People who had to file for bankruptcy.

“And any payout from it won’t be enough for anyone to move on and take out a new mortgage to buy another house.”

Desperate to return home, the owners initially raised money to take out a $22 million loan to repair the building’s foundations – but despite $15 million having already been spent, the apartment blocks are still still not suitable for re-occupation.

With the building vacant for the past four years, residents estimate they would need another $25 million for maintenance work.

Earlier this month, desperate homeowners made a last-ditch attempt in the NSW Supreme Court to free themselves from the strata scheme, with 70 per cent of owners looking to sell the entire block for demolition or repair.

However, the legal bid – which was opposed by the stratal loan company and the banks that held its mortgages – was rejected by the judge.

The NSW government has paid homeowners housing benefits – to the tune of $15 million to taxpayers – but it says it should be doing more.

In the wake of the failed legal bid, the government this week proposed a new debt relief strategy that would allow homeowners to sell the apartments as individual plots, rather than as a block.

According to their calculations, price estimates for the smallest apartments are just $133,500.

Under the proposal, third-party buyers would make a formal offer to all owners by February 15 next year and they would then be given two weeks to sign a sales contract.

If the proposal goes ahead, the owners would no longer be liable to pay any further strata charges or debts – which currently amount to $15.3 million – and their housing benefit would end on June 30 next year.

However, for the plan to go ahead, at least 75 percent of owners must agree to sell. Those who own their property outright or have significantly paid off their mortgage will lose any equity they have acquired over the past four years.

The government also wants to cancel the remaining debts of those who still have to pay off their mortgages.

But the compensation strategy is just a win for some.

“People like my mother and Gary, who have now paid off the mortgage, will not receive any equity, let alone the thousands of dollars in strata payments that have effectively gone down the drain,” Ms Prosser said.

‘It’s so unfair.

“The owners are being royally overwhelmed financially, not to mention emotionally and physically. The stories that are coming out are just heartbreaking.”

Ms Prosser – who shared the fate of her mother and stepfather in a now viral TikTok video – said no one has taken responsibility for the failed building and the disaster has been treated as “just one of those unfortunate situations”.

“The only positive side is that this sale may put an end to this saga, but it is just an absolutely heartbreaking story of ordinary people being robbed of their homes and hundreds of thousands of dollars through no fault of their own,” Ms Prosser said.

‘They were handed a** sandwich and were asked to be grateful that they had a sandwich.

‘What an absolute debacle.’

Ms Prosser has called on Prime Minister Chris Minns to make good on his promise in the Labor state election campaign and intervene and help owners of Mascot Towers.

She’s not alone. In recent weeks, pressure has increased on Mr Minns to remain true to his word.

“Chris Minns campaigned alongside the Mascot Owners, telling them and voters that he would work with the owners to remediate the building and allow them to return safely,” the Mascot Towers strata committee said in a press release last month.

“He promised a loan or would guarantee the loan to repair the building. Now that the owners are effectively prevented from selling the towers all at once, the government must finally make good on its promise.”

Gary said the government should be held accountable for supporting legislation reducing builders’ warranties to six years to promote growth within the construction industry, which has led to this situation.

He believes that if builders knew a building was their responsibility for 20 years, they would have a higher duty of care and complete construction to a higher standard.

Sue said the proposal will fall short for some people because the buyer’s offers won’t even cover their mortgage.

“The call that would make for a happy Christmas would be if the government refunded them the purchase price of the apartment,” she said.

‘Not what it would be worth today – which would be a lot more than what the purchase price was when they bought it – plus everyone would get their stamp duty back.

“That would certainly be something for them to move forward with.”

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Minns for comment.