A third Sydney apartment block is under scrutiny after it was revealed some of its residents were evacuated from apartments considered "unsafe and unfit for occupation".
About 30 units at 19 Gadigal Avenue in Zetland, in Sydney's inner south, were evacuated by the building owners in late 2018, according to City of Sydney.
Council staff who inspected the building in February found part of the building vacant with extensive and severe water damage.
"The water protection system in the building has failed which has led to a lot of water getting into the building and caused structural damage, particularly damage to walls that separate the different apartments," City of Sydney's executive development manager Andrew Thomas told reporters on Wednesday.
"So the building is unsafe and unfit for occupation."
Mr Thomas said council didn't know exactly when the building was evacuated and wasn't aware of support being given to affected residents.
"We've been advised by the building owners that they're taking advice to find out the nature of the fault and what rectification works need to be made," he said.
Mr Thomas said City of Sydney did not have concerns for other residents on the Zetland block, who are located on the lower floors but within a different allotment.
The news follows the evacuation of Sydney Olympic Park's Opal Tower on Christmas Eve and the Mascot Towers in June as the NSW government scrambles to overhaul building standards.
Owners Corporation Network spokesman Stephen Goddard is concerned about the spate of evacuations and the possibility of more.
"We now have an ever-growing group of people who are homeless until such time as their homes are capable of being re-occupied, which can be a period of time between six months and two years," he told AAP on Wednesday.
The minister responsible for building regulation Kevin Anderson is looking at reforms to the industry, with the government releasing a discussion paper in June.
The consultation period closes at the end of July and Mr Anderson on Wednesday urged the public to comment on the policy which would ultimately form legislation being introduced to parliament.
The state government has also committed to appointing a building commissioner.
Mr Goddard said the government's proposed reforms were "right and proper".
"We need to fall behind the government in finding the way to register the building designers, re-introduce consumer protection, and appoint a building commissioner who will have oversight that is missing from the building industry now," he said.
He believes the highly-publicised evacuations of the Opal and Mascot Towers buildings had affected consumer confidence with numerous prospective buyers contacting him for advice.
"People now understand that they now have more consumer protection buying a refrigerator than a million-dollar apartment," he said.
Australian Associated Press
