A 75-year-old Sydney woman, Nicky Sinclair, has spent two years fighting her building's strata manager to repair serious water damage in her Drummoyne apartment, which became so damp that mushrooms sprouted from the floorboards. The case highlights the plight of owners left in limbo over unresolved building defects, with Ms Sinclair forced out of what she had hoped would be her "forever home" and into temporary accommodation since February 2024.

Ms Sinclair bought the two-bedroom flat in 2022 and soon found water pooling near her balcony door whenever it rained; her bathroom was later ruined when a rotted bathtub base leaked. She says she relied on a strata report that gave the building a clean bill of health, unaware that a previous resident had ordered a flood report, and did not commission her own building inspection. She told A Current Affair that although the strata was reportedly ordered to fix the problems within six months, she remains in an Airbnb with her dog two years on.