A group of Canberra apartment owners facing $19 million in repairs for shoddy building work has been dealt another blow, losing a Federal Court bid to claim compensation.

Key points: Owners say apartments are beset with leaks and other problems

Owners say apartments are beset with leaks and other problems Builder B&T Construction has entered voluntary administration

Builder B&T Construction has entered voluntary administration The Federal Court threw out the claim and ordered owners to pay the costs

The Elara Apartment complex, built in 2007 on a prime block of land in Bruce, has been haunted by a web of problems with the development and failed legal action.

Last year, the ABC revealed the plight of Elara apartment owners, who said the apartments were beset with leaks and other problems and tried to sue Canberra builder B&T Constructions. They subsequently went into voluntary administration.

The group then lodged claims with the Master Builders Fidelity Fund, which was set up in 2002 to compensate those who could not sue their builder.

Compensation was capped at $85,000 per owner, but claims had to be made within five years from May 25, 2007. The first claim to the fund was not lodged until August 18, 2017.

The fund rejected the applications because they were lodged outside the five-year deadline, a decision upheld by the Federal Court yesterday.

The apartment owners alleged the work performed by the builder "was not carried out in a proper and skilful way and with good and proper materials".

"Consequently, defects exist in the common property, load-bearing walls, balconies and utility services.

"The cost of rectifying the defects is estimated at more than $19 million, which is only slightly less than the cost of the initial project."

Water damage and mould inside the complex. ( Supplied )

But Justice John Griffiths rejected the claims because they "did not arise within time period".

"In my view, there is no obligation on the trustees of the fund to pay an amount to the applicant even where a valid request or claim has been made," Justice Griffiths said.

"The trustees have a discretion in the matter, not only as to whether to pay any amount at all, but also as to the actual amount which might be paid, subject to the relevant cap."

Justice Griffiths stated "the claims themselves were not submitted within the time period, set out in the relevant legislations; or within the currency of any of the fidelity certificates for Elara.

"The fidelity certificates are not an independent or isolated source of enforceable legal rights and obligations.

He said the period of cover under the Fidelity Fund Scheme expired on May 26, 2012, being one day after the five-year period following the issue of a certificate of occupancy for each unit.

"In the particular circumstances here, the builder did not become insolvent until 20 July 2017, which is well outside the period of covers," he said.

"It matters not that the loss referred to ... crystallised within the period of cover. This has no relevance unless the condition specified ... also crystallises within that time."

The Elara Apartment complex was built in 2007 in Bruce. ( ABC News: James Fettes )

The second claim, which was submitted even later than the first claim, was rejected on the same basis.

The owners were also ordered to "pay the respondent's costs, as agreed or assessed".

'We'd bought a lemon'

David Allen, who bought an apartment in 2012, told the ABC last year that problems within the complex began to arise immediately.

"We were looking at a place for my daughter to stay and [it] was perfect, just across the road from the University of Canberra," he said.

Less than a month after buying the unit, problems started to mount.

"Water penetration was occurring within the unit, the balcony floor was leaking, [there were] floods in the carpark," he said.

"We'd bought a lemon. How foolish were we?"

David Allen said problems started to appear immediately after buying the apartment. ( ABC News: James Fettes )

A second man, who the ABC called John, also noticed red flags and reported the problems to the property manager.

"A lot of the earlier signs were that 'yes, we'll get onto this straight away, we'll come and fix this'," John said.

"But things did seem to [drag] on for quite some time, a lot longer than they really should."

Eventually the owners commissioned an expert report into the building's defects. It found highly corrosive water leaking onto car paintwork through the basement, and warned of serious structural and fire safety risks.

An initial repair bill was estimated at more than $19 million. ( ABC News: James Fettes )

It also alleged some balconies were at risk of collapse — a claim the ACT Government took so seriously it ordered B&T Constructions to install propping to support the structure.

The company initially complied but removed some a few months later without approval, citing their own report claiming the risk was exaggerated.

In the meantime other problems festered, according to waterproofing expert Ross Taylor.

"The scale and the complexity of the issues at Elara are amongst the worst that I've come across in my 40 years," Mr Taylor said.

"There's about 12 categories of issues … roofs, walls, bathroom leaking, balcony leaking, basement leaks and structural issues."

Owners would find themselves battling against rapidly moulding walls and cracked ceilings.

An initial estimate put the repair cost above $19 million, though the owners say that number continues to rise.