Residents in sinking Sydney suburb Spring Farm launch legal action

Devastated families in sinking Sydney suburb dubbed ‘Sink Farm’ come together to launch legal action as their $560,000 homes are left worthless

  • Houses at Spring Farm, near Camden in Sydney’s south west, are falling apart
  • The way the site was filled prior to construction has caused the land to move 
  • 3500 owners have sought tens of millions of dollars in damages from developers
  • Danny Moussa’s house is five years old and has needed $40,000 worth of repairs
  • Anne and Rod Chapman, who forked out $700,000, said their home is unsellable

Families in Sydney suburb dubbed ‘Sink Farm’ will launch legal action claiming their $560,000 homes have been rendered worthless by ground subsidence.

Houses at Spring Farm, near Camden in Sydney’s south west, have begun falling apart and are riddled with cracks as the ground beneath them gives way.

The way the site was filled prior to the construction stage caused the land to move and led to the dangerous defects.

About devastated 3500 owners have sought tens of millions of dollars in damages from developers The Cornish Group and the local council, prompting a Supreme Court class action to be filed, The Daily Telegraph reports.

‘The area has a stigma, it’s called ‘Sink Farm’,’ said lead plaintiff Danny Moussa, whose house is just five years old and has already needed $40,000 worth of repairs.

Houses at Spring Farm, near Camden in Sydney’s south west, have begun falling apart and are riddled with cracks

3500 owners have sought tens of millions of dollars in damages from developers The Cornish Group and council, prompting a Supreme Court class action to be filed. Pictured: a letter sent to locals

3500 owners have sought tens of millions of dollars in damages from developers The Cornish Group and council, prompting a Supreme Court class action to be filed. Pictured: a letter sent to locals

The way the site was filled prior to the construction stage caused the land to move and led to the dangerous defects

The way the site was filled prior to the construction stage caused the land to move and led to the dangerous defects

Mr Moussa is kept up at night by the sound of tiles and gyprock cracking, and said he worries the house will completely give way one day.

‘We’ve been told the site wasn’t fit to be built on,’ his wife Marielle said.

Locals Anne and Rod Chapman, who forked out $700,000 for their home and land, said their property is unsellable.

The house is continuing to crack and its doors are unable to close anymore, leaving their tenant with no option but to move out.

Brett Cornish, managing director of The Cornish Group, said he was only aware of a few homes that had developed problems.

The company, which is now suing Camden Council in a separate suit, had ‘not yet seen any class action and is unable to comment.’

Mr Cornish said the council ‘were the prior owners of the land and we allege they undertook substantial filling works in the relevant area’. 

Residents of a nearby home brought legal action against building company Firstyle, who then purchased the property back from the owners.

Camden Council told Daily Mail Australia it has ‘received no formal notice of the Supreme Court class action relating to Spring Farm’ and is unable to provide further comments. 

‘Council is making further enquiries with the Supreme Court to better understand the situation,’ a spokesman said.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she ‘wished [residents] well’ when asked about Spring Farm’s homeowners.

‘It would be horrific for anyone who’s invested in their family home, in their forever home, to have to find themselves in those circumstances,’ Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday.  

Lead plaintiff Danny Moussa's house, which is just five years old, has already needed $40,000 worth of repairs. Pictured with wife Marielle

Lead plaintiff Danny Moussa’s house, which is just five years old, has already needed $40,000 worth of repairs. Pictured with wife Marielle

  

  

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