The emergence of a third residential unit building with severe defects will intensify pressure on the state government to address concerns about building standards. Cracking forced the evacuation of Sydney Olympic Park's Opal Tower on Christmas Eve and the Mascot Towers on Bourke Street last month. Nadia Younan was one of the occupants forced out of the Zetland complex after renting an apartment there for five years. She felt "unsafe" living there and raised serious concerns in an email to her real estate agent in March 2017, seen by the Herald. Nadia Younan is a former resident of the evacuated building at Zetland. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer "I have never seen this building in such a state of sorry disrepair as it is today," she complained.

The building had heavy mould with "chunks of plaster falling from the ceiling every time it rains". "There are multiple fire alarms or lights within the hallway that are seriously corroded and clearly out of order as they have been exposed to water," she wrote. "The floor is constantly slippery with excess water which now pools around my front door. To leave it as it is is absolutely unacceptable for residents." Ms Younan complained that a glass security door had been left unlocked for six weeks, the lift had been shut down and she had videos of water streaming "like a waterfall" from the ceiling. "The hallways were ... littered with buckets to catch the water and then that sat there and turned [it] into the mosquito Hilton," she said.

"This is the kind of garbage we get charged $650 a week to live in … I was lucky that, as a tenant, I could just walk away from this bombshell." Residents recount widespread outbreaks of dangerous black mould and rotting carpet and floorboards. 'Not suitable for habitation in its current state' An email trail sheds some light on how the saga has unfolded since the loft apartments were constructed a decade ago as part of the multi-stage "Garland" development. Early owners recall "a whole bunch of defects right from the start."

One of the first residents to move in, who did not wish to be identified, entered his new home in 2009 to find the fire alarm "left hanging from the ceiling", the automatic blind and towel hanger broken and a glass slat window unable to be closed in the cold. Tenants who subsequently moved into the apartment complex were told repairs on the building were imminent which convinced many to overlook its poor state. But one new tenant was shocked to find "about half a litre" of water would leak below when the upstairs shower was being used. In 2011, the owners' corporation launched a claim against the builder, Garland Builders Pty Ltd, and the joint developers of the project, Garland 204 Pty Ltd and Garland 204 Retail Pty Ltd. The case threatened to unravel in 2014 as the owners were told the companies were being wound up and deregistered.

But they successfully settled an insurance claim in March 2018 for $1.7 million, on the condition the insurance company was released from all further liability. A few months later a contractor embarked on $1.2 million worth of repairs, with owners to temporarily be moved out as the works were completed stage by stage. But in August 2018 owners received a letter advising "unanticipated structural and fire defects" had been discovered by the contractor. The situation rapidly escalated. In October the new law firm acting for the owners' corporation, Chambers Russell, circulated a letter calling for the "urgent" evacuation of the building. Water damage had "significantly compromised" the corridor and the separations between units, essential for fireproofing the building.

Loading "The structural integrity of the building has also been brought into question," the letter said. "Significant timber decay and steel corrosion may result in premature structural collapse in the event of fire. "Experts have unequivocally stated the strata scheme is not suitable for habitation in its current state as it poses a serious risk to the health and safety of all occupants." At an information night, residents were told that with the newly discovered defects, the cost of fixing the building was "likely to be in excess of $5,000,000 and potentially substantially more".