The NSW Government will pay for the interest on loans on behalf of apartment owners for the removal of high-risk cladding across NSW residential apartment buildings.
This is a welcomed move for the 225 buildings identified by the state government’s Cladding Taskforce as containing high-risk cladding.
For those who own and live in these apartment buildings, it has been a stressful period since the cladding was identified, not to mention the added stress of planning its removal and the costs involved.
That’s where Project Remediate comes into effect. Project Remediate is a three-year program introduced by NSW government to help eligible building owners corporations remove this combustible cladding from their buildings.
Project Remediate is a voluntary program offering interest free loans over a 10-year period with repayments to commence upon the completion of the work. Repayments will be made quarterly to align with the schedule of strata levies.
Eligible building owners will also be helped through assurance and project management services, offering remediation solution which will be completed to a high standard at a fair price.
It is expected that these buildings will be fairly insured without cladding provisos post completion.
Eligibility
To apply for a Project Remediate interest-free loan, your building must be:
- a residential apartment building (Class 2) in NSW. This includes multi-use buildings, for example part commercial/part residential
- confirmed by the Cladding Taskforce to have a high-risk combustible cladding façade that requires remediation.
Registrations now open for an interest-free loan
Through Project Remediate, the NSW Government will pay the interest on loans on behalf of owners corporations for the removal of high-risk cladding from residential apartment buildings.
Each loan will be designed with the building owners’ interests at the centre, with provisions to accommodate and support owners who may experience financial hardship.
Strata Title Management (STM) clients should speak with their Community Manager for further details regarding eligibility and the interest-free loan application process.
Assurance and project management services
Cladding replacement is a complex project. That’s why a managing contractor will be appointed by mid-2021 and paid for by the NSW Government to coordinate all activities necessary to deliver a safe and durable solution for each building.
The managing contractor will guide owners corporations through the process of remediation from start to finish. Owners will be kept informed of work or decisions affecting the building and consulted on matters of design, scheduling, safety and building access.
The managing contractor will establish five pre-qualified panels of service providers for the program, covering building assessment and investigation, design, remediation and consultants that will verify that work complies with standards and program requirements.
Other measures which will also support the remediation services under this program include:
- advice from the Cladding Product Safety Panel (CPSP) to inform the selection of products and system design choices to deliver a safe and insurable result
- a principal façade practitioner to provide program-wide design guidelines, incorporating the CPSP’s advice and maintain a repository of suitable remediation designs
- verification by a qualified professional to confirm that the work and documentation is compliant with standards under the program
- regulatory powers held by the Office of the Building Commissioner to obtain building documentation, investigate building work and defects and issue orders for rectification.
Strata Title Management (STM) Community Managers are available to provide further details regarding Project Remediation should you have any queries.
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