Residents in the beleaguered Mascot Towers face at least another month out of their apartments, as owners agree to pay a $1 million levy towards the cost of repairing the 10-storey building.

Key points: The appearance of cracks prompted the evacuation of the building's 132 units on Friday

The appearance of cracks prompted the evacuation of the building's 132 units on Friday Engineers say there are signs the worst-affected part of the building is stabilising

Engineers say there are signs the worst-affected part of the building is stabilising Further assessment will determine if adjoining apartment construction contributed to the cracks

It has been almost a week since residents were evacuated from the 132-apartment complex after cracks appeared in the building.

Some residents have been able to re-enter the building to collect some of their belongings, while others in the worst-affected zone are still waiting.

Owners and tenants expressed their frustrations during separate meetings on Thursday night.

At the owners' meeting which lasted about three hours, 94 per cent of eligible voters supported the levy following a "fairly detailed and lengthy discussion," Mr McGuire said.

But real estate agent John Higgins, who sold many of the apartments off the plan, labelled the meeting as "disappointing" and said owners should expect to pay much more than the $1 million figure they just voted on.

"The $1 million honestly is just to start us off," he said.

"I think that's just to kick the football around and find out where we stand."

Owners had to provide proof they were on the strata roll before entering the meeting. ( ABC News )

He said a clear timeline should have been established in which the building would be assessed and deemed safe.

Instead, residents were faced with the "daunting" prospect of not knowing how long until the building could occupied.

Mr Higgins also criticised Premier Gladys Berejiklian for not attending.

"I think for a matter of this size it's so important that she should be there."

About 100 people attended the tenants' meeting at the Stanford Plaza Sydney Airport Hotel, including legal representatives and members of the NSW Department of Fair Trading.

Patrick McGuire, representing the Owners Corporation, said many tenants were frustrated that the engineering report was not complete and that they were only being given 30 minutes to collect their belongings.

He said would take that message back to the experts to see if anything could be done.

Mr McGuire also said tenants were told to seek legal advice about breaking their leases and that some were reporting that owners had already refunded their bonds in full.

Signs of building 'stabilising'

In their latest update on the building's condition, engineers said they were "cautiously optimistic" that residents in the worst-affected "red zone" would be able to access their apartments next week.

Support beams were installed last week in the Mascot Towers carpark. ( ABC News: Nicole Chettle )

But other residents will be able to access their apartments for 30 minutes to recover their personal belongings as early as Saturday.

But Owners Corporation spokesman Patrick McGuire said it was not yet known when residents could return for good.

"We have no feel for that yet — the engineering assessment is still underway and we expect to have some idea next week," Mr McGuire said.

"What we are advising in terms of the next month is we don't believe any return to their property in terms of living will be possible at all."

Mr McGuire said residents may be permitted to collect personal items on Saturday if engineers decided it was safe to do so.

Engineers said there were signs the building was stabilising in the areas of most concern, however, instability was still evident in other parts of the apartment complex.

In a statement, the Owners Corporation said an owners' meeting tonight would be asked to approve a $1 million special levy contingency fund "to meet the cost of initial engineering advice and building stability costs".

Some residents have been unable to access their apartments since the evacuation. ( ABC News: Selby Stewart )

"No advice on rectification costs, insurance provisions, liability or related issues can be given until the engineering assessment progresses," the statement said.

It also said the builder/developer of the complex was no longer trading after being placed into administration several years ago.

'Looking for answers'

Ahead of the owners' meeting attendees were forced to queue as organisers checked their identification to ensure only those on the strata roll and their support person were able to allowed inside.

Media were not permitted to attend.

Those gathered outside expressed anger at what they described as a lack of information from building management.

Steve McIlwraith wants to know when he can return home. ( ABC News: Liv Casben )

Steve McIlwrath owns a unit in the red zone and has been unable to access his apartment since the initial evacuation.

"I'm a little distressed, it's the fear of the unknown," he said.

"We're coping and surviving but we just want more information and [want to know] when can we get back in," he said.

He and his family, including a six-month-old baby, were given just 20 minutes before they had to evacuate on Friday night, despite issues with the building being known for some time.

"They could have put us on notice to say, 'Hey, heads up, this is about to go down, we're going to do a further assessment in an hour [so] grab your stuff'. I would have been OK with that," Mr McIlwraith said.

Another owner said he was "angry and just looking for answers".

He said he did not agree with the sum owners were expected to pay for assessment and repair work.

"Like all the other residents, we want to know where every cent of that million dollars [is going] because that quote is just not right," he said.