Starting a family, Mohammed bought his dream home. Two kids later, he still can’t move in

3 months ago 20

The real estate sign on the front of the building promised a dream: “Brand new apartments set to launch a chic new lifestyle.”

And, for Mohammed Hussein, his family’s new home was a dream. He bought a unit in the development at 71 Hill Road, Lurnea, near Liverpool, in mid-2022 for his wife and soon-to-be-born child.

“It was just a beautiful two-bedroom unit, large size, big balcony, they had a rooftop, they had a full barbecue area going on so we could hold a function and things like that. [It was a] really nice, beautiful building,” he said.

Mohammed Hussein bought an apartment in 2022 for his family. He hasn’t been able to move in.

But then, in November of the same year, the newly built five-storey tower was hit with a prohibition order after a range of serious defects were identified. It meant Hussein and his family could not move into their apartment until rectification works were complete.

More than three years – and two kids – later, Hussein is still unable to live in the unit he owns. The financial strain led him to close his small business as he was unable to afford its rent.

“My wife is on maternity leave, and I’m doing bits and pieces here and there. I don’t have a full-time job, I just work for myself, but it’s not like before. It’s very, very hard,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The apartment block at 71 Hill Road, Lurnea, remains unoccupied after defects were identified.

Sydney’s ‘ghost’ apartments

Last week, this masthead reported that Observatory Place, a 24-storey apartment tower in Parramatta, was sitting empty after its now bankrupt developers abandoned it following a prohibition order on the site in 2022. The day after the story was published, workers were seen walking through the site. They declined to speak to the Herald.

Since then, readers from across Sydney have reached out about other apartment buildings that remain vacant due to defects and subsequent stop work orders placed on the sites by Building Commission NSW.

Among them is Hussein’s building, a development with a troubled history. In 2022, Fair Trading officers found five defects in the building, including the absence of a fire sprinkler system and balustrade walls without reinforcement on the balconies.

The certifier was Dix Gardner, which has been the subject of regulatory concern over several construction projects. The company’s boss, Lyall Dix, was fined more than $88,000 by the Building Professionals Board in 2019 following a dozen complaints about his role as a certifier.

Building rectification works are continuing in the building.

The developer, Hill Road Lurnea Pty Ltd, has since entered external administration. In February, The Daily Telegraph reported that its director, Kadirhan Ilgun, was ordered to complete 75 hours of community service for his harassment of politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, then-federal opposition leader Peter Dutton and NSW Premier Chris Minns, over an unrelated matter.

Secured Lending, the financier for the development, is now undertaking the required remedial works. A spokesperson said work was “90 per cent” complete and the company is working closely with Liverpool Council to achieve the necessary planning approvals for residents to move in. But they did not confirm when work was expected to be complete.

“Secured Lending is aware there is a pressing need for the units of this nature in the area and are committed to expedite this process and get them to the market,” the spokesperson said.

Seven units in the building remain under contract.

The Lurnea development is one of 16 buildings in NSW, including 13 in Sydney, issued with prohibition or stop work orders by the Building Commission as of October 2024.

2 Seven Hills Road, Baulkham Hills

In Sydney’s north-west, at Baulkham Hills, sits the Modena: a 15-storey building meant to house more than 230 “luxurious” apartments and retail space. Today, the development remains partially occupied and the shops empty, after defects were found in 2021. Those defects included an awning at risk of collapse and considered a “hazard to human life”.

McGrathNicol was appointed the receiver of the development in 2021 when its developer, Hills Shopping-town Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Dyldam, went into receivership. McGrathNicol did not respond to requests for comment.

11 John Street, Lidcombe

Four years ago, the developer of a nine-storey apartment building on John Street, Lidcombe was barred from allowing people to move in after serious defects were discovered. See Win Holdings Pty Ltd was issued with a prohibition order after inspectors discovered balustrade walls on the rooftop and first-floor balconies had been constructed without reinforcement. A construction certificate was also not obtained for any level above the ground floor.

This masthead was unable to reach See Win Holdings for comment. In 2021, a spokesperson for the developer told the Herald that problems with the brick walls on the roof and balconies on the first floor were not a major structural issue and would be resolved. The building remains unoccupied.

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email [email protected] with news tips.