Sleepless nights and depression for buyers after Bathla collapse
When 72-year-old Sue Mancuso put down a deposit for an apartment at The Sanctuary development in Wollongong in 2025, she was excited by the prospect of moving in before Christmas.
She did not expect to be living with her daughter, Marie Sinclair, 12 months after the Kembla Grange units were slated for completion.
"Luckily my daughter has helped us, otherwise we would have been homeless," Ms Mancuso said.
Sue's daughter, Marie Sinclair, says her mother would have been homeless if she had not taken her in. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
The 108-apartment complex was one of 45 active projects left unfinished when Sydney developer Bathla went into administration in August with debts totalling about $3.4 billion.
Ms Sinclair said the situation had taken a major emotional and financial toll on her mother, who sold her family home and has had her furniture in storage for more than a year.
"It turns people's lives upside down and leaves them nowhere to go, really," Ms Sinclair said.
"If they haven't got support of friends or family, where does it leave them?"
The development is almost complete, but has been issued with a prohibition order over serious defects. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)
The development's lender, Balmain, said it was "98 per cent complete", but in a fresh blow this month, the Building Commissioner slapped the project with a prohibition order for serious defects.
Janice Cahill has been renting and paying storage fees since 2024, waiting for her apartment in the complex to be finished.
She had hoped the move would be a fresh start for her after losing her husband and father in the space of a year, and provide an accessible space to recover from the double knee surgery she had this month.
Instead, she will learn to walk again in her one-bedroom studio rental, with a 15-stair walk-up.
Janice Cahill was hoping to recover in her new, accessible apartment after double knee surgery. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
"Living in one room, not being able to go outside, it's depressing," Ms Cahill said.
"It's affecting my mental health."
Defect-riddled builds
Just a 10-minute drive south, Murray Twist and his partner put their life savings into one of 92 new townhouses at a Bathla development in Avondale.
It was their first home.
Murray Twist, his partner and their dog Tilly are living in the defect-riddled home. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)
He moved into the Avoca Park estate in July, months later than expected, and found a building riddled with defects.
"There were a lot of sleepless nights, and a lot of hope lost," Mr Twist said.
A building report listed around 100 defects, including a missing smoke detector, cracks in pavement, and missing grout in the shower.
Defects at the property include cracks in pavement, missing smoke alarms and missing grout. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)
"[The report] found poor quality of work and unsuitable for completion — there were pages and pages of defects," Mr Twist said.
"Others have it worse — some people have had showers leaking to the downstairs of their house with slubs of concrete in the drain."
Throughout the estate, several homes sit empty and incomplete; lights dangle from exposed wires on porches, and the beeps of low-battery fire alarms ricochet up and down the streets.
Mr Twist said Bathla employees initially fixed some of his home's defects, but since the collapse he had not had any contact with the developer's staff — about 60 per cent have been stood down across the state.
"We don't know who to turn to," he said.
While administrators secured funding for a small number of Bathla projects last week, the ABC understands Avoca Park is not one of them
Other townhouses in Avoca Park are empty and incomplete. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)
The project's lender, Credit Connect Group, did not respond to the ABC's requests for comment.
In a statement, a Building Commission NSW spokesperson said it encouraged owners, customers and contractors to reach out to the administrator, Teneo, for further guidance.
It said the commission intended to reach out to impacted customers about "the relevant steps they should take in light of the situation".
Relief for buyers
For buyers in the Kembla Grange project, this month has delivered some renewed hope.
The CEO of Balmain, Andrew Griffin, confirmed it had appointed receivers and would complete the project with contingency funds.
The project's creditor, Balmain, says work is underway to finish the project and rectify the defects. (ABC Illawarra: Penny Burfitt)
He said they were working through the defects on the prohibition order.
"We are absolutely completing the project," Mr Griffin said.
"We're very hopeful we'll get it done very early in the new year, if not very late this year."
Marie Sinclair said that news came as an immense relief for her mother.
"There's hope and light at the end of the tunnel for my parents," she said.
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