Remaining Opal Tower residents to return home by Christmas

The 12 remaining residents displaced from Opal Tower in Sydney's west will return home by Christmas after the builder and developer settled a dispute over work still to be completed.

On Christmas Eve last year the 36-storey apartment building in Sydney Olympic Park was evacuated due to fears it would collapse. All residents were forced into temporary accommodation as the builder and developer scrambled to identify and fix the problems.

There's good news for the remaining displaced residents at Opal Tower who can move back in by Christmas. Credit: Nick Moir

Nine months later, most people have either returned home or abandoned the troubled tower, but 12 residents still remain in limbo. While all structural repairs have been completed and apartments have been fixed, 20 apartments are inaccessible as work to repair communal areas continues.

On Friday afternoon building company Icon agreed to pay developer Ecove $150,000 in compensation to erect scaffolding in front of the Mint Bar, a ground-floor restaurant owned by Ecove.

The resolution of the dispute, which threatened to delay the remaining residents moving back in, paves the way for rectification works to be completed.

"The 20 apartments will be able to be moved back into incrementally as works are progressed. It will probably be two to three months until the works are completed," an Icon spokesperson said.

Owners' corporation chairman Shady Eskander said the ongoing uncertainty has been "devastating for a lot of families".

"The ones that are really suffering at the moment are the investors," Mr Eskander said.

"You've got people who are so stressed financially, emotionally, physically because they’re unable to rent out their apartment."

While praising Icon for taking responsibility and fixing the structural issues, Mr Eskander said he is "quite disappointed" the company backed out of its commitment to compensate investors who lost rental income.

"They gave us an undertaking if we allowed them to come in and do works [that] they would provide a 20-year warranty and a 10-week rental allowance."

He said while Icon did extend the building's warranty, it demanded owners sign away their legal rights in exchange for the 10-week payment.

"It was very underhanded," Mr Eskander said.

Icon did not respond to questions about this issue, instead saying "any deeds or agreements would be subject to confidentiality".

A spokesperson said the company had spent $1 million on fixing the defective building, and $27 million in total. The majority of that cost included "allowances and reimbursements made to residents", plus consultants, security, legal fees and public relations expenses.

One tenant who has only recently been able to return to his apartment said he was more than $20,000 out of pocket because Icon stopped reimbursing his hotel expenses after April.

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear speaking out would jeopardise his case, said he wished he never moved in to Opal Tower.

"It really was stressful and it still is. I couldn't do anything with my life because I didn't know how long I'd be in limbo.

"I’m hoping they come to the realisation that they should pay so I can move on with my life."

In response, an Icon spokesperson said: "Every legitimate claim made has been paid."

Another tenant, Mark Beckwith, said he was happy to return to Opal Tower where he enjoys living. He was able to renegotiate his lease for a "significantly cheaper" price since the cracks appeared.

"The inconveniences of living in a construction site are still there. But it's really not a big deal in terms of quality of life," he said.

While he is happy to be back, Mr Beckwith is still awaiting an insurance payout for about $1000 when his apartment was evacuated. The entire contents of his fridge and freezer perished, and he also claims he had items - including a bluetooth speaker - stolen by contractors.

Beyond the financial impact, the whole saga has taken an emotional toll on many residents.

"There are some who have anxiety now when they hear any noises or creaking," Mr Eskander said.

"People are happy to be home, but home has a lot of uncertainty around it. There's mixed emotions."