Topless bar Petersham Inn skyrockets insurance costs for outraged unit owners

Residents living above a topless bar have had their savings stripped and are locked in a legal dispute with the Petersham Inn, after an “unfair” strata arrangement saw insurance costs soar.

Petersham Inn transformed from a family pub, into a strip bar, known for its adult services topless bar and strip club in 2016.

A topless bar and strip club has residents who live above it outraged and out of pocket, after they say they were forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover skyrocketing insurance costs associated with the adult antics downstairs.

Residents at the Citadel complex in Petersham have spent months locked in a legal dispute with the Petersham Inn, after an “unfair” strata arrangement saw their quarterly fees reach “ludicrous” levels due to insurance costs.

The saga began in 2016, when the Petersham Inn was transformed from a family pub, into a strip bar, known for its adult services.

“Petersham Inn is Sydney’s hottest sports and show bar, which is open seven days a week also now hosts a sexy Gentlemen’s Club,” the pub’s website read.

“Strip Inn is … a treat not to be missed! With amazing topless waitresses and barmaids, it also features an awesome catwalk stage with two separate poles!”

The Petersham Inn and the Citadel apartments atop it

Petersham locals said when the strippers were introduced, incidents of “anti-social” behaviour including drunken antics and alcohol-fuelled violence also increased.

“You see it all now,” one local told the Telegraph.

“Drunken idiots screaming and yelling, urinating on buildings and the gates to homes, it’s awful.

“We certainly noticed a big change in behaviour when they introduced the dancers.”

And before long, the Citadel’s insurance companies also took issue with the revamped pub.

Court documents state that in 2021, the insurance premium cost the building just over $58,000. However, the insurer refused to renew the policy in 2022, due to the presence of the “strip club” downstairs.

Petersham Inn Strip Club. Picture: Supplied

With insurance a must, the residents found an insurer willing to cover the building – but it cost a whopping $525,615 – almost 10 times the previous cost. After that insurer also cancelled, they found another policy at $254,268.36.

The problem with the growing insurance bill was that the residents bore the brunt of the costs – not the Petersham Inn.

The complex is split between 92 residential apartments and 10 commercial units – and according to the building agreement, residents assumed 90% of costs and the commercial units the remaining 10%.

It’s understood increased costs forced some residents to sell their properties at lesser value, while those who remained were forced to take out loans to pay for the rising insurance costs, sending body corporate fees through the roof.

The apartment owners took the matter to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal arguing they should not have to wear the costs of the huge insurance premiums.

The court sided with the owners, finding that their portion of the insurance should only have been just over $128,000 from 2022 to 2024, agreeing that if the strip bar wasn’t located downstairs, there never would have been such a huge price hike.

The Petersham Inn declined to comment on the dispute, but told the Telegraph it had lodged an appeal on the court’s decision.