Six years after she bought an apartment in Crownview off the plan, Wollongong's Arrielle Richards is still waiting to move in.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But a representative of developers Oxford Crown Group said COVID and weather had affected completion of the upper Crown Street apartment block, adding residents will be able to move in in April.
The apartments have been slapped with a prohibition order following the NSW Building Commissioner finding a "serious" defect in a basement column.
The builder is now in the process of rectifying the defect.
Ms Richards said she placed a 10 per cent deposit on an apartment when she was 21 and she is now 27 and still hasn't been able to move in with her partner Max Pasalic.
"It's quite frustrating," Ms Richards said. "It's like a weird limbo of having to put my life on hold for that amount of time."
She had bought in Crownview because she wanted to live in the Wollongong CBD and in a brand new apartment.
"Obviously now with the housing market skyrocketing we can't really afford much else," she said.
"We want to keep it because we've waited so long and it's obviously increased in value so much but we also just want to live in our own apartment."
The couple are renting in Wollongong at the moment, with their lease due to run out in April - the same month they have been told they will finally be able to move in.
Living in the CBD has meant they have to see the Crownview regularly, which has served as a constant reminder.
"Every time we drive past the Crownview me and my partner, either we stick our fingers up or we look away because it's a pit in our guts - we cannot look at it," she said.
The Oxford Crown Group spokesman said they were expecting construction to be complete by early April with residents able to move in "a few weeks after that".
"The issue with the column is already well underway to being repaired," the representative said.
"So we don't expect delays to be any longer than that."
The representative added that there were other reasons for the unusually long delay.
"With buildings being sold off the plan sometimes through a number of factors, cost of materials increasing, the cost of labour increasing and labour shortages due to COVID, and the inclement weather like we've had over the last year," he said.
"There are other factors that are affecting the delays not just because of the prohibition order."
Some residents who had expressed a desire to break free from their contracts and buy elsewhere have had their deposits refunded, he said.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
